Two agency employees said the federal agency responsible for protecting workers’ civil rights is classifying all cases of discrimination related to gender identity as a minimum priority, essentially putting it indefinitely.
The EEE meeting held Wednesday to clarify how to deal with complaints about gender discrimination by new workers, given President Donald Trump’s January 20 executive order announced that the administration would announce it. Only know two “unchanging” genders – Male and female.
According to agency employees attending Microsoft Team meetings, the lowest classification in the EEEOC system was handled, usually setting staff for charges or admissions as “C”, which is usually reserved for valuable allegations. Employees requested to remain anonymous because they did not have the right to disclose details of the meeting.
An EEOC spokesman declined to comment at the meeting, saying “Under federal law, we cannot discuss the investigation practice.”
The decision is the latest step for the EEOC to avoid defending the rights of transgender and non-binary workers in a major shift in civil rights enforcement under the Trump administration. In February, EEOC moved to Give up seven pending lawsuits Allegations of discrimination against trans and non-binary persons.
Andrea Lucas, acting chairman of the Republican EEOC, said one of her priorities would be to enforce executive orders on gender and “defend the biological and binary reality of gender and related rights.” She had previously ordered any workers to discriminate against, that is, “hint” on the “meaning” of Trump’s executive order on the gender, to be elevated to headquarters for review.
The latest decision to bury complaints related to gender identity has left trans and non-binary people experiencing discrimination at work and limited recourse. In most cases, American workers must file a discrimination complaint through the EEOC before they can seek other legal avenues.
Chai Feldblum, EEOC Commissioner, who served as EEOC Commissioner in 2010-2019, said cases related to gender identity would be essentially the lowest certainty.
“If they say they take it to a central location to give them proper consideration, at least they have the look of doing something,” Feldblum said of Lucas’ previous directive on gender identity cases. “If they swept them out on the door with the allegation of “C”, they wouldn’t do the job.”
The EEOC said it would still issue a “right to prosecute” notice upon request, meaning workers can decide to file a lawsuit on their own. The agency will also respect the mediation request, according to staff attending Wednesday’s meeting. However, if mediation fails, the EEOC will not take further action on the case.
New approach to EEOC Gender identity and discrimination Debate on whether the institution violated the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling Bostock v. Clayton CountyThis is a landmark case that defines Chapter VII of the Civil Rights Act, prohibiting workplace discrimination based on gender identity.
Civil rights activists accused EEOC of illegally violating the Supreme Court and ruled its obligation to enforce anti-discrimination laws by waived lawsuits related to gender and identity. Lucas had previously told the Associated Press that the EEOC had a responsibility to comply with Trump’s execution order, but she did not directly criticize that the agency had tensions with the Supreme Court in handling gender identity cases.
According to the agency’s website, the EEOC received more than 3,000 charges in fiscal year 2024, based on sexual orientation or gender identity, and received more than 3,000 charges in 2023.
Associated Press business reporter Alexandra Olson contributed to the report.
