The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced it will resume processing some transgender discrimination complaints after previously halting them under new guidance issued during President Trump’s second term. The shift marks a limited reversal of a policy that had drawn widespread criticism for weakening legal protections for transgender workers.
Earlier this year, the EEOC stopped investigating certain claims filed by transgender individuals, particularly those related to bathroom access, dress codes, and misgendering. The agency cited alignment with Executive Order 13990, reissued under Trump’s administration, as its reason for narrowing enforcement of Title VII protections.
This rollback, first reported by TransVitae in February, led to hundreds of workplace discrimination complaints being deprioritized or dismissed. Advocacy groups, civil rights attorneys, and whistleblowers within the agency warned that the change left transgender employees without support from the very federal body meant to defend them.
After months of mounting public and legal pressure, the EEOC now says it will once again investigate claims involving gender identity-based harassment, wrongful termination, and retaliation. However, the agency is not reinstating full protections and will continue handling other issues like restroom access and dress codes on a case-by-case basis. Legal experts say this leaves transgender employees in a dangerous gray area.
“While this shift may appear like progress, it is not a full return to the protections we fought so hard for,” said Harper Doyle, senior counsel at the Transgender Legal Defense Fund. “The EEOC is still choosing to apply civil rights law inconsistently, which continues to put trans workers at risk.”
The move comes amid reports that senior Department of Justice officials raised concerns about the legality of the EEOC’s rollback. According to Bloomberg Law, internal communications revealed that staff were told to avoid pursuing most gender identity-related claims unless they involved clear-cut termination or extreme misconduct. This approach appears to contradict the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which affirmed that discrimination based on transgender status is prohibited under Title VII.
The Washington Post reported that the agency’s actions led to widespread confusion among EEOC employees, some of whom said they were instructed not to inform complainants about the policy changes. This left many transgender individuals believing their cases were being handled fairly, only to find out later that their complaints were dismissed without serious review.
For workers like Amani Russell, a warehouse employee in Ohio, the damage has already been done. “I was harassed every day for using the women’s bathroom,” she said. “I filed a complaint. They told me to wait. Then one day I got a letter saying my case was closed with no explanation.”
Despite the EEOC’s revised stance, the agency has not committed to reopening previously dismissed claims. Legal advocates are now urging affected individuals to consult attorneys about resubmitting their cases or pursuing other legal options.
Transgender rights organizations say the current patchwork of enforcement leaves too much discretion in the hands of an agency that has already shown a willingness to abandon trans workers under political pressure.
“This is not accountability. It’s damage control,” said Doyle. “We need explicit, unwavering federal protection for all transgender people in the workplace. Anything less sends the message that our rights are conditional.”
TransVitae will continue tracking this developing story and advocating for the full civil rights of transgender individuals across the United States.
