Back to TX v. EEOC:
Judge Kacsmaryk’s 5/15/25 TX v EEOC order turns on an obtusely literal and anticontextual reading of EEOC’s 2024 workplace harassment guidance’s statement that under Title VII, “sex” includes “pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions” and sexual orientation and gender identity. This is his gambit. Kacsmaryk holds this unlawfully redefines Title VII "sex."
But a more generous reading, in context (this is, after all, guidance about workplace harassment) would interpret the EEOC’s language not as definition, but simply a categorical opening summary to a more detailed discussion. “[a]s discussed in this section.” the sentence ends, after all.
Have a look:
www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/enforcement-guidance-harassment-workplace#_Toc164808002
That's where Kacsmaryk is dancing: by holding the EEOC guidance was definitional, Kacsmaryk tries to pull it outside Bostock’s scope, since in Bostock, Gorsuch skipped definitional disputes altogether. Didn't need 'em to get to the holding in Bostock.
Still, even without this EEOC guidance (which the current EEOC wasn't likely to enforce anyway, under this administration), employers will find it difficult to evade Bostock’s simple rule: you can’t discriminate against gay/trans without discriminating based on sex.
#Bostock
#EmploymentDiscrimination
#EEOC
#EEOC
The LGBTQ community and our Allies must challenge this decision.
"On Thursday, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk — a far-right federal judge in the Northern District of Texas with a record of aligning with the GOP’s most extreme legal positions — issued a ruling declaring that Title VII no longer protects LGBTQ+ people from workplace discrimination. The decision directly contradicts the Supreme Court’s landmark 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which held that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is, by definition, sex discrimination. Kacsmaryk’s ruling marks one of the most alarming judicial rollbacks of LGBTQ+ rights in recent memory — and sets up a direct legal challenge to one of the foundational civil rights protections for queer and trans people in the United States.
"The case was brought against the EEOC by the state of Texas alongside the Heritage Foundation, a central force behind Project 2025 — an aggressive right-wing policy blueprint that explicitly calls for rolling back LGBTQ+ protections in federal law. In siding with the plaintiffs, Judge Kacsmaryk pointed to the Texas Department of Agriculture’s current employee policy, which requires “employees to comply with this dress code in a manner consistent with their biological gender,” specifying that “men may wear pants” and “women may wear dresses, skirts, or pants.” The ruling also upheld the department’s policy banning transgender employees from using restrooms that align with their gender identity.
"The judge reached a verdict that Title VII only protects “firing someone simply for being homosexual or transgender,” but that it does not protect transgender or gay people from “harassment”
#Workplace #Discrimination #Harassment #EEOC
#AcceptanceMatters #LGBT #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Lesbian #Gay #Bisexual #Transgender #Queer #Intersex #Asexual #NonBinary
Since I was at 139.0 lbs dry weight this morning, I'm allowing myself an IPA as I reread Bostock, before digging in to how Kacsmaryk is evading its reasoning in TX v EEOC. Bostock's facts involved firings, but Title VII reaches terms and conditions of employment, not just firing; and Bostock tells us how to apply Title VII in the context of discrimination against gay and trans folk (viz., was discrimination based on sex a but-for cause of the employer's action?).
I think Kacsmaryk is dancin'. I'll say more later after reading both.
#Bostock
#EmploymentDiscrimination
#EEOC
#dieting
У США Комісія з рівних можливостей працевлаштування намагається звільнити адміністративну суддю Карен Ортіс, яка виступила проти розпорядження Трампа про паузу в розслідуваннях дискримінації трансгендерів. #США #EEOC #Трамп #Дискримінація #ПраваЛюдини
Детальніше: https://newsua.us/node/5802
Wanna bet they're doing this in the UK too?
Why wouldn't they? We're all scum to these people, destroying a minority of us probably gives these fucko's life....
#TransRightsAreHumanRights #Trans #LGBTQIA #TerfIsland #USPOL #EEOC
"Employees from #Barnard #College received text messages this week from the federally run Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (#EEOC) on their personal phones linking to a voluntary survey asking recipients if they are #Jewish or #Israeli and whether they have been subjected to harassment or #antisemitism." 👀
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/24/barnard-college-texts-jewish-faculty
Professors at Barnard College received text messages on Monday to their personal cells from the EEOC asking them to complete a voluntary survey, asking.
“Please select all that apply: “I am Jewish”; “I am Israeli”; “I have shared Jewish/Israeli ancestry”; “I practice Judaism”; and “Other.”
It also asked about anti-Israeli protests, “unwelcome comments, jokes or discussions,” or “pressure to abandon, change or adopt a practice or religious belief.”
https://theintercept.com/2025/04/23/trump-eeoc-barnard-columbia-texts-jewish/
US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (#EEOC, charged with preventing employment #discrimination), has instructed staff to 'sideline all new #transgender discrimination cases'. Thus the statement that all Americans are equal under the law is false. We knew that. https://apnews.com/article/transgender-discrimination-gender-civil-rights-88def3b2a735f09cb79d37fc1125b095
Four American law firms have bent the knee to Fascism and Trump. They are doing his bidding to unravel American democracy and DEI.
The four law firms are #KirklandEllis #LathamandWatkins #SimpsonThacher #A&OShearmanSterling #DEI
#EEOC Settlement.
#Democratic #EEOC commissioner fired by #Trump sues administration
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5240319-eeoc-lawsuit-trump-firing/
From AP.com: Ex-EEOC commissioner fired by Trump files lawsuit demanding reinstatement
https://apnews.com/article/equal-employment-eeoc-trump-lawsuit-11c89b6c6a55c006c09345b1c80421b5
https://19thnews.org/2025/03/trump-battle-reshaping-nlrb-eeoc-labor-boards/ “On Tuesday, the D.C. court of appeals heard discussion over how far executive power can extend, including whether the president has an “unrestricted power of removal” of certain key federal officials.” The National Labor Relations Board #NLRB & the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission #EEOC are both independent bi-partisan organizations created to protect workers. They provide important guardrails that prevent employers from acting in abusive or illegal ways towards their employees. ALL their employees, not just those who are members or supporters of the current party occupying the White House, functions they have been performing for decades. The dismantling of these organizations or even just their realignment towards a more political role, undermines the protections ALL AMERICAN WORKERS rely on & should not be permitted by the courts or workers themselves. If you have a job, it’s time to write, call, & visit, your Senators & Congressperson. #the19th
20 #law firms received letters from #Trump’s #EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas informing them they’re being investigated.
Lucas wrote the EEOC is “concern[ed] that some firms’ employment practices, including those labeled or framed as #DEI, may entail unlawful disparate treatment … in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”All because the firms have at any point made public statements or programs in support of #diversity in the profession.
#idiocracy
https://abovethelaw.com/2025/03/trump-sics-eeoc-on-20-biglaw-firms/
Headline: ACLU of Michigan aims to intervene after Trump admin drops transgender discrimination case
Source: @michiganadvance
From the article: "The ACLU of Michigan announced it is seeking to intervene in a federal transgender rights lawsuit after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told the court it would drop the case due to President Donald Trump’s executive order directing federal agencies not to promote “gender ideology.”
"The Commission’s investigation into the case found that Asher Lucas, a transgender man, and his coworkers Regina Zaviski and Savannah Nurme-Robinson, each lost their job at a Culver’s restaurant in Clarkston after going to supervisors with concerns that Lucas was being mistreated by a fellow coworker because he is transgender.
"Following an investigation the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Culver’s and its associated business entities on Oct. 25, 2024, seeking relief for Lucas as well as Zaviski and Nurme-Robinson. However, under the Trump administration, the commission has moved to dismiss its claims in this case, as well as other workplace discrimination cases filed on behalf of transgender employees across the nation, though the ACLU notes the Supreme Court has deemed employment discrimination against transgender people a violation of federal law."
#ACLU #Michigan #EEOC #GenderIdeology #EmploymentDiscrimination #AcceptanceMatters #Transgender #TransgenderRights #Transrights #TransgenderDiscrimination #TransgenderAwareness
#LGBT #LGBTQ #LGBTQIAPlus #USPolitics #ThePoliticsOfHate #Discrimination
URL for article because thumbnail is not displaying:
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/03/06/aclu-of-michigan-aims-to-intervene-after-trump-admin-drops-transgender-discrimination-case/
Karen Ortiz: Meet The Judge Defying Trump’s ‘Illegal Mandates’ in Bold Stand for Civil Rights https://shinemycrown.com/karen-ortiz-meet-the-judge-defying-trumps-illegal-mandates-in-bold-stand-for-civil-rights/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #CivilRights #KarenOrtiz #Trump #EEOC #LegalStand
"This week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a press release indicating that the #EEOC would be cracking down on #antisemitism in the workplace, with special emphasis on college and university workplaces.
Although institutions of higher education are the primary focus of the EEOC, the press release made clear that no employers should tolerate #antisemitic harassment or discrimination.
(The EEOC does not have jurisdiction over antisemitism that targets students, but of course other government agencies do.)"
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/eeoc-signals-crackdown-on-anti-jewish-2870394/
Headline: The Trump Administration Has Made 150 Million American Workers Newly Vulnerable to Workplace Discrimination
Source: Center for American Progress
From the article: "Essentially, all employees and job seekers, a total of approximately 153 million Americans, benefit from the protections the EEOC provides. The Equal Pay Act—a law requiring equal pay for equal work that the EEOC enforces—covers virtually all employers, while other laws enforced by the EEOC apply to all but the smallest employers. Whether they work in the private sector or for the government, practically all employees and those applying for jobs are protected by the EEOC against illegal employer actions" (Annotations removed for clarity)
#EEOC #EqualEmploymentOpportunityCommission #AcceptanceMatters
#Discrimination #Disabled #Ableism #ADA #Elderly #Ageism #Minorities #PeopleOfColor #Racism #Gender #Sexism #Pregnancy
#SexualOrientation #LGBT #LGBTQ #LGBTQDiscrimination #LGBTQIAPlus #Lesbian #Gay #Bisexual #Transgender #TransgenderDiscrimination #Queer #Intersex #Asexual #NonBinary
#HumanResources #Recruiters #TalentAcquisition
#USPolitics #ThePoliticsOfHate #ThePoliticsOfGreed
URL for article because thumbnail is not displaying:
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-trump-administration-has-made-150-million-american-workers-newly-vulnerable-to-workplace-discrimination/
#Trump has also tried to remove more than a dozen #InspectorsGeneral, as well as members of the National #Labor Relations Board [#NLRB] & the #Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [#EEOC]. Many of the ousted ofcls are contesting their removals in court.
In addition to fighting his own ouster, Dellinger has been arguing that the admin’s #MassFirings of probationary #FederalWorkers is illegal.
#law #NationalSecurity #authoritarianism #autocracy #democracy #SeparationOfPowers
Headline: EEOC shift on LGBT protections creates legal complications for businesses
Source: The Business Journals
From the article: "The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under the Trump administration is reversing course on LGBT protections, which is putting businesses in a difficult spot.
"That’s because, despite the EEOCs decision to withdraw from a number of cases prosecuting LGBT discrimination claims and President Donald Trump's executive orders that target transgender Americans, discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation is still against federal law. That was reaffirmed in a 6-3 decision by the Supreme Court in Bostock v. Clayton County in 2020.
“While the federal government now recognizes only male and female sexes, private-sector employers should keep in mind that the [executive order] does not reverse binding court precedent, and employers must continue to comply with Title VII and applicable state laws — many of which are in direct conflict with the EO,” said Mariah Berry, senior associate at Muskat Devine LLP, in an email."
#EqualEmploymentOpportunityCommission #EEOC #Businesses #Employers #PrivateSectorEmployers #Employees #LGBTProtections #LGBTSiscrimination #AcceptanceMatters #LGBT #LGBTQ #LGBTQIAPlus #Lesbian #Gay #Bisexual #Transgender #Queer #Intersex #Asexual #NonBinary #USPolitics #ThePoliticsOfHate
URL for article because thumbnail is not displaying:
https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/news/2025/02/21/trump-eeoc-lgbt-business-employer-supreme-court.html
All #Queer folk and #Allies need work to stop this!
Source: @forbes
From the article: "The EEOC’s move to drop gender identity discrimination cases is a departure from the agency’s previous actions that have considered gender identity and sexual orientation to be protected characteristics from employment discrimination. In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that gay, lesbian and transgender people are protected from employment discrimination, holding that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on sex and other characteristics, also encompasses sexual orientation and gender identity. The EEOC has listed sexual orientation and gender identity among legally protected characteristics, and last year, the agency said refusing to use a transgender employee’s preferred pronouns and preventing employees from using bathrooms that match their gender identity both constitute workplace harassment."
#EEOC #TransgenderDiscrimination #TransgenderWorkers
#Transgender #AcceptanceMatters #Transrights #LGBT #LGBTQ #LGBTQIAPlus #Employment #HumanResources
#USPolitics #ThePoliticsOfHate