Congress members demand that EEOC address gender identity discrimination

Seventy members of Congress are demanding that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforce protections against anti-transgender discrimination.

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The EEOC, under Acting Chair Andrea Lucas, has deprioritized cases of gender identity discrimination in the second Donald Trump administration. This has come in spite of the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County that job discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination and therefore illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Despite Trump’s many anti-trans executive orders, the high court’s ruling remains the law of the land.

“We are writing to strongly oppose the recent actions you have taken as Acting Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) that fail to fulfill enforcement of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s (Title VII) relating to gender identity discrimination,” says a letter from the Congress members, sent Friday to Lucas.

Related: EEOC won't advocate for trans and nonbinary people, in keeping with Trump's 'two sexes' order

The letter is led by Democratic U.S. Reps. Mark Takano of California, chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus; Bobby Scott of Virginia, ranking member of the Committee on Education and Workforce; and Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon, vice chair of the Equality Caucus.

“Discrimination against transgender and nonbinary people is a serious and ongoing issue,” the letter continues. “A recent survey found that despite the Bostock decision, 27% of transgender people experienced workplace discrimination in the past year. As you know, the EEOC was created under Title VII and charged with addressing discrimination against workers. Yet, under your leadership, the EEOC has abdicated this responsibility under the law when it comes to transgender and nonbinary workers.”

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Shortly after Lucas was appointed acting chair in January, she told EEOC employees to stop processing claims alleging gender identity-based discrimination, the Congress members note. In April, employees were told to classify all new complaints of this discrimination as lowest priority, “a categorization reserved for meritless charges” that “essentially puts the processing of such complaints in an indefinite hold,” they point out.

Further, the EEOC has asked courts to dismiss with prejudice half a dozen lawsuits it has brought regarding gender identity discrimination; dismissal with prejudice means the case is over and the plaintiff cannot file the same suit again. It has also removed the X gender marker from intake forms, and once the commission has a quorum, Lucas plans to hold votes to change or revoke guidance issued in 2024 on workplace harassment because she opposes the sections on gender identity.

Related: Trump administration moves to strip transgender people of employment discrimination protections

To justify her actions, Lucas has cited Trump’s executive order saying the federal government will recognize only two sexes, male and female as designated at birth. However, an executive order does not invalidate court precedents or the commission’s duty to enforce Title VII, the Congress members say.

“We urge you to uphold your obligations as both Acting Chair and a Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to address discrimination against transgender and nonbinary workers,” they conclude.