EEOC issues final harassment guidance

On April 29, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its final harassment guidance, updating the previous version with Bostock, #MeToo, and remote work issues. The most controversial guidance involves broad protections of LGBTQ+ employees, especially transgender employees, which the EEOC believes is a natural extension of the Supreme Court’s Bostock decision and has already drawn the expected lawsuit by Republican attorneys general (AGs).

The guidance defines harassment as including the following:

• Denial of access to a bathroom consistent with an individual’s gender identity, repeated misgendering of an individual, or harassment of an individual because they do not meet stereotypical standards associated with their gender;
• Pregnancy, childbirth, and other related medical conditions;
• Religious expression that creates or reasonable threatens to create a hostile work environment; and
• Sexist, racist, or otherwise discriminatory speech communicated by email, instant message, videoconference, or other online technology.

The guidance provides resources for employers to review and update their harassment policies to best prevent and address workplace harassment.

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