On January 22, 2026, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted to rescind its “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace.” While this move has generated attention, it does not significantly change most employers’ legal obligations, including Michigan employers, whose compliance responsibilities remain governed largely by existing federal and state law.
The rescinded guidance issued on April 29, 2024, was not a binding law. Rather, it outlined how the EEOC interpreted federal anti-harassment law under certain statutes, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
Although the guidance addressed a broad range of protected characteristics, such as race, sex, religion, age, and disability, public attention largely centered on provisions related to gender identity, sexual orientation, and reproductive-rights-related issues. Those sections relied heavily on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County and included examples of harassment, such as repeated misuse of an employee’s name or pronouns, or denial of access to restrooms and locker rooms consistent with an employee’s gender identity.
The basis for the EEOC’s action appears to address provisions interpreting the scope of legal prohibitions related to gender-identity. Those provisions were enacted by a 2-1...
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