Topline
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requested to dismiss six lawsuits that it previously filed alleging discrimination based on gender identity because they now conflict with President Donald Trump’s executive orders that have targeted trans people.
The EEOC moved to dismiss six cases it filed alleging gender identity discrimination. (Photo by ... [+]
Key Facts
The EEOC has filed to drop six of its cases, the Associated Press reported, three of which were filed in Illinois, with three additional cases in New York, California and Alabama.
All of the cases were filed alleging employment discrimination against transgender or nonbinary workers.
The Alabama case had accused Harmony Hospitality, a property management company, of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by firing an employee who identifies as nonbinary male and gay “because of his sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and failure to adhere to male gender stereotypes,” PBS reported.
In requesting dismissal, the EEOC reportedly cited Trump’s day-one executive order that decried “gender ideology and extremism” and required the federal departments to recognize gender as an unchangeable male-female binary, which Trump framed as a move for women’s rights.
How Did The Eeoc Previously Address Trans Discrimination?
The EEOC’s move to drop gender identity discrimination cases is a departure from the agency’s previous actions that have considered gender identity and sexual orientation to be protected characteristics from employment discrimination. In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that gay, lesbian and transgender people are protected from employment discrimination, holding that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on sex and other characteristics, also encompasses sexual orientation and gender identity. The EEOC has listed sexual orientation and gender identity among legally protected characteristics, and last year, the agency said refusing to use a transgender employee’s preferred pronouns and preventing employees from using bathrooms that match their gender identity both constitute workplace harassment.
Key Background
Trump fired two of the EEOC’s Democratic commissioners within days of taking office. The Trump-appointed acting commissioner, Andrea Lucas, announced in January the agency would return to “protecting women from sexual harassment and sex-based discrimination in the workplace by rolling back the Biden administration’s gender identity agenda.” Lucas said her priorities include defending the “biological and binary reality of sex” and preventing people who file complaints from using the “X” marker for their gender, or the prefix “Mx.”
Chief Critics
David Lopez, former EEOC general counsel, told the AP the EEOC’s move is a “complete abdication of responsibility,” accusing the agency of discriminating against trans people. Jocelyn Samuels, one of the EEOC commissioners Trump fired, said she fears Trump reshaping of the EEOC panel is part of his plan to “scapegoat trans people and inflict immense damage on them” and “erase the existence of trans people.”
Further Reading
Dismissed EEOC commissioner warns that Trump plans to ‘erase the existence of trans people’ (Associated Press)
