EEOC rescinds transgender workplace guidance: What you need to know

In an unsurprising move, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted 2 to 1 to formally scrap its 2024 guidance on workplace harassment on January 22, 2026. This action officially withdraws the Biden-era framework that classified intentional misgendering and the denial of gender-affirming bathroom access as forms of illegal sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

The rescission follows through on the Trump administration’s pledge to remove “gender ideology” from federal agencies. Leading the change, EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas argued that the previous rules overstepped the commission’s authority by attempting to rewrite civil rights law rather than simply enforcing it. While the decision was met with a dissent from Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal, who argued the removal lacked a formal notice-and-comment period, the guidance has already been scrubbed from the agency’s website.

Context and judicial influence

The policy reversal was largely set in motion by a May 2025 federal court ruling in Texas. The judge in that case struck down the bathroom and pronoun provisions of the EEOC guidance, declaring them inconsistent with the historical and textual meaning of Title VII.