Overview
- On January 22, 2026, commissioners voted 2-1 to withdraw the April 2024 guidance, and the document was taken down from the EEOC website the same day.
- The action followed a 2025 Northern District of Texas ruling that vacated sections on sexual orientation and gender identity, after which the EEOC annotated the guidance while it lacked a quorum.
- Chair Andrea Lucas said the prior guidance exceeded the agency’s authority, while Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal argued a formal notice-and-comment process was required, reflecting an ideological divide tied to the administration’s binary-sex policy priorities.
- Federal law remains unchanged, including Title VII and the Supreme Court’s Bostock decision, but employers must now look to statutes, court decisions, and state or local rules without current EEOC harassment guidance.
- The rescinded document spanned nearly 200 pages, offered more than 75 practical examples, and superseded decades-old materials, leaving a gap that heightens compliance uncertainty for policies and investigations.