Update: On May 15, 2025, Judge Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas vacated the portions of the EEOC’s Harassment Guidance that explain that federal law prohibits workplace harassment based on gender identity and sexual orientation. This decision does not change the fact that Supreme Court precedent prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, but vacating this language in the Harassment Guidance will cause confusion that will make it harder for workers to enforce their rights. NWLC will continue fighting for the rights of LGBTQIA+ people to work safely and with dignity, free from harassment.

***

On November 20, 2024, NWLC and 15 other organizations dedicated to workers’ rights and gender justice filed an amicus brief defending the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace (Harassment Guidance). 

In this case, the State of Texas and the Heritage Foundation sued the EEOC, seeking to block the Harassment Guidance in its entirety because of its recognition that Title VII’s prohibition against sex discrimination includes discrimination on the basis of gender identity. 

The EEOC’s Harassment Guidance serves as an important resource for workers, employers, and enforcement staff, by explaining the federal legal standards for workplace harassment claims and applying these standards to real factual scenarios. Our brief emphasizes that the Harassment Guidance is critically important to protect transgender and nonbinary workers from the widespread and unlawful harassment they experience in the workplace, which has a significant negative impact on their mental, physical, and financial wellbeing. Blocking the Harassment Guidance would create confusion for workers and employers and undermine protections for transgender and nonbinary workers that are critically needed and required by federal law.