Courts rule against EEOC on harassment guidance, PWFA regs

Recent rulings from two different federal district courts mean the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will have to revisit and revise its antiharassment guidance and its Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) regulations.

Texas judge vacates transgender protections from EEOC guidance

On May 15, 2025, a Texas federal district court judge vacated portions of the EEOC’s antiharassment guidance, claiming they were inconsistent with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock.

Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk had previously blocked EEOC guidance on LGBTQ+ protections that addressed workplace bathroom, dress code, and locker room rules. In Texas v. EEOC, he granted summary judgment (dismissal without a trial) to Texas and conservative policy advocacy organization the Heritage Foundation, stating that the EEOC issued “enforcement guidance requiring bathroom, dress and pronoun accommodations inconsistent with the text, history, and tradition of Title VII and recent Supreme Court precedent.” The judge went on to say:

First, the enforcement guidance contravenes Title VII’s plain text by expanding the scope of “sex” beyond the biological binary. Second, the enforcement guidance contravenes Title VII by defining discriminatory harassment to include failure to accommodate a transgender employee’s bathroom, pronoun, and dress preferences.