Recall that just last year, the EEOC updated its Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace for the first time in 30 years. We blogged about it here. Earlier this year, President Trump issued Executive Order 14168 directing the EEOC to rescind portions of the guidance; however, the EEOC took no action because it lacked quorum. Now, in Texas, et al. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, et al., a federal judge in the Northern District of Texas has taken action for the EEOC by vacating portions of the guidance.
In Fall 2024, the state of Texas and the Heritage Foundation challenged the definition of “sex” and the scope of sexual harassment set forth in the guidance, as it relates to sexual orientation and gender identity. The guidance provided, in relevant part, that sex-based harassment included “harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity, including how that identity is expressed” and gave examples of harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The guidance also provided that outing an individual or the denial of access to a bathroom or other sex-segregated facility is harassing conduct.
The Northern District of Texas disagreed. In the recent opinion, the court held that the guidance “contravenes Title VII’s plain text by expanding the scope of ‘sex’ beyond the biological binary: male and female” and took issue with the guidance’s instruction that “effectively requires employers to provide accommodations to all...
Negotiations on paper and tensions on the ground have long shaped India–China relations. Even during phases of diplomatic warmth, China’s posture on Arunachal Pradesh has followed a familiar histo...