Quick Hits

• A federal district court recently vacated parts of the EEOC’s guidance related to workplace harassment of LGBTQ+ employees.
• Despite the Supreme Court’s holding in Bostock that discrimination based on sex in hiring or firing decisions violates Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination, the district court vacated the guidance based on the guidance’s “expanded” definition of sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
• The court ruled that the EEOC exceeded its statutory authority by requiring accommodations related to bathrooms, dress, and pronouns, which it found inconsistent with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and recent Supreme Court precedent.
• This decision follows President Trump’s executive order recognizing sex as binary and immutable, which has created uncertainty for employers regarding compliance with federal, state, and local antidiscrimination laws.

Background

In vacating the EEOC’s guidance related to LGBTQ+ workplace harassment, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas held that the EEOC’s April 2024 “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace” overstepped by stating Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination also prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The EEOC guidance flowed from the Supreme Court of the United States’ 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, where the Court ruled Title VII prohibits employers from firing workers...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMirwFBVV95cUxQVmJMMUZqR0RJN2xBWUJHeXpi...