Republican Attorneys General from 18 states filed a lawsuit May 13, 2024, challenging several provisions of workplace anti-harassment guidance issued last month by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Tennessee v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, focuses on the provisions that relate to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) discrimination.
The lawsuit raises several legal arguments. It asserts that the guidance is actually a rule subject to the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The complaint also alleges that the guidance imposes a new mandate contrary to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Furthermore, the complaint asserts that the guidance is unlawful because the EEOC’s independent structure violates the Constitution.
The Attorneys General have asked the court to nullify the guidance and declare that Title VII does not prohibit employers from separating showers, locker rooms, bathrooms, and other living facilities by biological sex, and that Title VII does not require an employer or its employees to use a transgender individual’s preferred pronouns.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.