Did you know that Truthout is a nonprofit and independently funded by readers like you? If you value what we do, please support our work with a donation.

This story was originally published by The 19th.

A transgender worker is repeatedly and intentionally misgendered by their coworker. A workplace bars an employee from using facilities that match their gender identity. A supervisor suggests a transgender subordinate shouldn’t be in public-facing work.

Going forward, it will be more difficult, timely and costly for LGBTQ workers to seek justice for these and other workplace harassment issues related to their gender identities and sexualities.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, on Thursday voted 2-to-1 to rescind years-in-the-making guidance that the agency released in 2024 on applying current civil rights laws to workplace harassment. The 200-page document included more than 75 examples of harassment scenarios that employers might encounter and explained the agency’s thinking.

The EEOC’s move to toss the guidance out will be most immediately felt by LGBTQ workers, experts told The 19th, but it will also have broader implications for anyone who experiences harassment related to their gender, race or ethnicity while they’re at work — and for employers trying to comply with the underlying law.

“One of the main services that the EEOC provides to employees is a free investigation and a free resolution of their complaint,” explained Chai Feldblum, who served as one of the civil rights agency’s five commissioners during the Obama administration and into the beginning of President Donald Trump’s first term.........

© Truthout