Civil rights agency sued over handling of transgender worker discrimination complaints under Trump
Led by Acting Chair Andrea Lucas, a Republican, the federal agency charged with enforcing laws against workplace discrimination has moved swiftly to comply with President Donald Trump's executive order declaring two unchangeable sexes. Under Lucas's leadership, the EEOC has dropped several lawsuits on behalf of transgender workers, stalled progress on some new cases, and subjected others to heightened scrutiny. The lawsuit also alleges that the agency halted payments to state and local civil rights agencies for investigating gender identity discrimination claims.
'For over 60 years, the EEOC's mandate has been to protect workers from discrimination, not to pick and choose who is deemed worthy of protection based on political interference,' said Skye Perryman, the president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which alongside the National Women's Law Center brought the case on behalf of Maryland LGBTQ+ advocacy group FreeState Justice.
'The Trump-Vance administration's unlawful effort to erase protections for transgender people is cruel, and a violation of the law and the Constitution,' Perryman continued in an emailed statement.
The EEOC declined to comment on the lawsuit, and instead referred The Associated Press to the Department of Justice. The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lucas, who is named in the lawsuit filed in Maryland U.S. District Court in Baltimore, has said that one of her priorities as Acting Chair would be 'defending the biological and binary reality of sex and related rights.'
Last month she defended her decision to drop several lawsuits on behalf of transgender workers during her June 18 Senate committee confirmation hearing, saying her agency is not independent and must comply with the president's orders.
'It was impossible to both comply with the president's executive order as an executive branch agency, and also zealously defend the workers we had brought the case on behalf,' she said.
However, Lucas acknowledged that a 2020 Supreme Court ruling — Bostock v. Clayton County — 'did clearly hold that discriminating against someone on the basis of sex included firing an individual who is transgender or based on their sexual orientation.'
Plaintiffs argue that although the Bostock precedent 'cemented protections for LGBTQ+ workers that the EEOC had already recognized for years' the agency has now 'foreclosed transgender workers from the full set of charge investigation and other enforcement protections available to cisgender charging parties and categorically refuses to fully enforce the laws protecting against workplace sex discrimination tied to gender identity.'
The lawsuit, which cites two Associated Press reports detailing EEOC actions related to LGBTQ+ workers, alleges that the EEOC's 'Trans Exclusion Policy' violates Supreme Court precedent, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fifth Amendment's Equal Protection guarantee, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
'Instead of serving its critical role to prevent discrimination in the workplace, the EEOC, under Andrea Lucas' leadership, is actually promoting discrimination,' said Gaylynn Burroughs, Vice President for Education and Workplace Justice at NWLC, in an emailed statement about the lawsuit. 'Transgender workers deserve to be protected against harassment, and the EEOC is obligated to do so under law. But the Trump administration seems hellbent on bullying transgender people in every possible way and ensuring that they are pushed out of all forms of public life, including their workplaces, so we're taking the administration to court.'
________
The Associated Press' women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
12 minutes ago
- New York Post
Staten Island Democrats embrace Zohran Mamdani, turn on Andrew Cuomo: ‘Voters have spoken'
Democratic Party leaders in the city's most conservative borough are jumping on the Zohran Mamdani bandwagon in what critics are calling the political equivalent of a 'shotgun wedding.' Staten Island Democrats are making nice with the party nominee after backing his rival, ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the June Democratic Party primary. Cuomo is now running in the general election on an independent, minor-party line. 'Zohran is the Democratic nominee. The voters have spoken,' said Laura LoBianco Sword, chairwoman of the borough's Democratic Party. 3 The Democratic Party of Staten Island is getting behind the Zohran Mamdani in the general election. Paul Martinka 'We want to work together. I want to make sure Staten Island has a seat at the table.' The Mamdani campaign confirmed it will have a big general election campaign launch Aug. 17 on Staten Island as the democratic socialist looks to expand his political base. 'While Zohran builds real support across all five boroughs, Cuomo's campaign is withering as New Yorkers learn he stands for absolutely nothing but his own ambition, dogged by scandal, corruption, and a record of sexual harassment and humiliation,' campaign spokeswoman Dora Pekec said. Mamdani won big as an outsider pick in the primary but he has made a push to expand his reach as he heads into the general election, where he'll face Republican Curtis Sliwa as well as independents Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams. Rodneyse Bichotte, the Brooklyn Democratic chairwoman, endorsed Cuomo during the primary election but immediately backed Mamdani after he won the party contest. 3 The Staten Island Democrats endorsed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in he mayoral primary. J.C. Rice Mamdani has also been in contact with party leaders in Queens, particularly officials who represent largely black neighborhoods in the southeast part of the borough that went heavily for Cuomo during the primary election, according to insiders. LoBianco Sword credited Mamdani with bringing new voters into the Democratic Party, and hopes to piggyback that trend in the borough. The island Democratic leader said Mamdani has correctly identified the city's problems. Whether or not one agrees with his controversial plan to open government-run grocery stores in the five boroughs, she said there's no question that there are 'food deserts' in city neighborhoods. Start and end your day informed with our newsletters Morning Report and Evening Update: Your source for today's top stories Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters She also said the wealthy 'should pay their fair share' when asked about Mamdani's plans to raise taxes on millionaires and corporations by $9 billion to subsidize fare-free buses, child care and housing. Cuomo beat Mamdani in Richmond County but it wasn't a blowout — 46.5% of the vote to 37.5% during the initial round of the ranked-choice election. Staten Island Republican Party chairman Michael Tannousis, asked about the borough Democratic organization-Mamdani alliance, 'it's definitely a shotgun wedding.' 3 Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa expects to win Staten Island — but says he isn't taking voters in the borough for granted. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post He predicted many moderate, law-and-order Democrats will back Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, who won 65% of the vote in the borough against Adams in 2021, though Adams easily carried the other boroughs and won the mayoralty. Adams ran in that race on the Democratic line. 'There is no appetite for socialism and the socialist agenda,' said Tannousis, also a state assemblyman. 'Curtis will win Staten Island. He may get a bigger vote than four years ago. Staten Islanders will have a choice: either the Mamdani socialist Democrats or the Republican ticket.' Sliwa, for his part, is working hard to carry Staten Island again, but he's not taking the borough for granted. 'If I lose Staten Island, shame on me. It's a real battleground but I've been out there forever,' the Guardian Angels founder said. He said Staten Islanders will never forgive Adams for pushing migrant shelters in the borough as mayor and Cuomo is running on his legacy — making the GOP nominee the chief rival to Mamdani.
Newsweek
41 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Texas Democrats Head to Chicago in Effort to Block Redistricting Map
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Texas Democrats on Sunday departed from the Lone Star State and headed to Chicago in an effort to prevent their state legislature from holding a vote that would approve Republican-backed redistricting maps. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, helped arrange for the trip during a meeting with the Texas caucus last month. He has directed his staff to assist the Texas lawmakers with any necessary support during their stay. Newsweek has reached out to Pritzker's office by email outside of normal business hours on Sunday. Why It Matters Historically, the party in the White House loses seats, and Republicans currently have a slim majority in both the U.S. House and Senate, giving Democrats hopes of retaking at least one of the houses of Congress in next year's midterms. Texas Republicans have sought to redraw the districting map in an effort to bolster nationwide party chances of retaining the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans in other states with significant battleground contests coming up have also looked to follow a similar path. What To Know More than 51 Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives departed the state on Sunday, aiming to deny the chamber a quorum and prevent passage of a proposed Republican map before a scheduled floor vote. The Texas House requires the presence of at least 100 of its 150 members to conduct business. With only 62 Democratic members in the chamber, their collective absence can halt legislative proceedings, according to the Associated Press. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, had called a special session to address the flooding that killed 135 people last month in Texas Hill Country and the redistricting plan, which would redraw congressional boundaries and could potentially increase Republican-held seats from 25 to as many as 30 out of Texas' 38 districts. The AP reported that Trump urged Texas Republicans to redraw the map. The map targets Democratic-leaning areas in cities such as Austin, Dallas, Houston, and regions in south Texas. Republican leaders advanced their proposal through committee on Saturday and scheduled a key floor vote for Monday, prompting the Democrats' walkout. Texas Democrats had pulled a similar move in 2021 in order to block new voting restrictions that the state legislature was trying to pass. However, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows warned his colleagues across the aisle that should they deny his party a quorum, then "all options will be on the table." Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton echoed that sentiment, writing on X that the party should use "every tool at our disposal" to deal with the runaway Democrats. Existing House rules allow for the arrest and fining of members for breaking quorum, including proposed $500-per-day fines, although they may prove difficult to enforce while lawmakers remain outside Texas, where state jurisdiction does not apply, according to ABC News. Texas Representative Gene Wu speaks to border and immigrant advocates, community members, and civil rights organizations protesting against immigration bills outside of the John H. Reagan State Office Building in Austin on April 12, 2023. Texas Representative Gene Wu speaks to border and immigrant advocates, community members, and civil rights organizations protesting against immigration bills outside of the John H. Reagan State Office Building in Austin on April 12, 2023. Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images What People Are Saying Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote on X on Sunday: "Democrats in the Texas House who try and run away like cowards should be found, arrested, and brought back to the Capitol immediately. We should use every tool at our disposal to hunt down those who think they are above the law." Texas state Representative Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, in a statement: "This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity. We're not walking out on our responsibilities; we're walking out on a rigged system that refuses to listen to the people we represent." Democratic Party Chair Ken Martin in a statement said: "For weeks, we've been warning that if Republicans in Texas want a showdown—if they want to delay flood relief to cravenly protect Donald Trump from an inevitable midterm meltdown—then we'd give them that showdown. That's exactly what Texas Democrats did today: blowing up Republicans' sham special session that's virtually ignored the plight of flood victims in Kerr County." What Happens Next? Texas Republicans will attempt to find legal means of passing the proposed redistricting, though that may lead to a drawn-out legal battle. The U.S. Supreme Court is already reviewing a dispute over redistricting in Louisiana, and earlier this year overturned a lower court decision that ruled South Carolina's congressional map was unconstitutional. This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
Newsweek
43 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Significant Number of Democrats View Party Negatively: Poll
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. More than one-third of Democrats used negative terms to describe their own party, according to a poll published on Sunday. Newsweek has reached out to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for comment via email on Sunday. Why It Matters Last November marked a pivotal election in the United States, with President Donald Trump returning to the White House after winning both the popular vote and the Electoral College. The scale of the Republican Party's triumph in November—taking the White House, flipping the Senate, and maintaining control of the House—has sparked soul-searching within the Democratic Party over what went wrong and how to rebuild. The Democratic Party has struggled with unpopularity and internal dissatisfaction since the sweeping defeat, facing pronounced ideological and generational divides, compounded by widespread voter frustration with congressional leaders and the party's overall direction. Democratic leaders have come under criticism from within, some for pushing the party too far left, and others for appearing too conciliatory toward Trump, and a number who have felt disillusioned with its agenda have left the party entirely to either identify as independent or as a Republican. What To Know An Associated Press-NORC poll of 1,437 adults found that many Democrats are dissatisfied with their own party. When asked to describe the Democratic Party, respondents frequently offered negative words such as "weak," "tepid," "apathetic," "ineffective" and "broken." Overall, 35 percent of Democrats used a negative term to describe their party, whereas 23 percent cited positive terms. Over 40 percent of Republicans cited positive terms related to their party, with 19 percent expressing dissatisfaction. However, among all the poll's participants, more people associated negative traits with the GOP, 43 percent, than with the Democratic Party, at 39 percent. The poll, which was conducted between July 10-14, was published on Sunday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. The makeup of the poll was 35 percent Democrats, 27 percent independents, and 37 percent Republicans. The poll comes days after the Wall Street Journal published a poll finding that the Democratic Party's image has deteriorated to its lowest point in over three decades according to the newspaper's records that date back to 1990. It also comes shortly after July jobs report was released, which showed that the U.S. labor market has slowed over the past few months, with unemployment inching upward and prior job gains revised to be weaker than expected. The U.S. Capitol building is seen on July 25. The U.S. Capitol building is seen on July 25. Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images What People Are Saying Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Ken Martin said on NewsNation's The Hill Sunday on August 3: "We are a party that needs to focus on getting back to an economic message that gives people a sense that we're fighting for them, but we don't need to abandon our values. We've been the party fighting for the working class and the poor, but we are also the party that's always fought against discrimination, bigotry, harassment, and people being bullied out of the conversation. We'll continue to do that." John Anzalone, a Democratic pollster who worked on the Wall Street Journal survey in July, said: "The Democratic brand is so bad that they don't have the credibility to be a critic of Trump or the Republican Party. Until they reconnect with real voters and working people on who they're for and what their economic message is, they're going to have problems." Senator Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, said in a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday about advancing a package of bills: "This, to me, is a problem with Democrats in America right now, is we're willing to be complicit to Donald Trump, to let this pass through when we have all the leverage right are standing at a moment where our president is eviscerating the Constitution of the United States of America, and we're willing to go along with it today. No. No. Not on my watch." What Happens Next? Democrats are continuing to work out the direction of the party as they prepare for the 2025 gubernatorial elections and the 2026 midterms, when they aim to win back voters who shifted toward Trump last year. New Jersey and Virginia will hold gubernatorial elections in November as both the incumbent governors are term-limited.
