EEOC releases guidance on sex-based harassment and bathroom access, sparks backlash

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released new guidance that outlines how an employer can be held accountable for harassment if they demand staff to use bathroom facilities corresponding with their biological sex, sparking backlash. In the ‘Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace’ document published this week, “sex-based harassment” is defined as including “intentional and repeated use of a name or pronoun inconsistent with an individual’s gender identity”. The EEOC chair Charlotte A. Burrows stated that the new guidance would help prevent workplace harassment by clarifying recent legal developments while incorporating feedback from stakeholders across America. She added: “As we commemorate this year’s 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, the guidance will raise awareness about the serious problem of harassment in employment and protect those who experience it”.
Last year, the EEOC announced its plans to update its guidelines concerning sexual orientation and gender identity which prompted a wave of criticism from state attorneys general. Lucas, an appointee by former President Trump during his tenure at the White House, expressed her disapproval in relation to the new guidance released this week, claiming: “The EEOC ignores biological reality”. She continued: “Relatedly, the Commission declares that harassing conduct includes ‘repeated and intentional use of a name or pronoun inconsistent with [an] individual’s known gender identity.’ The Commission’s guidance effectively eliminates single-sex workplace facilities and infringes upon women’s (and indeed all employees’) rights to freedom of speech, belief, privacy, and safety”.
The EEOC is an independent federal agency that aims at stopping employment discrimination in America.