Overview
- Chair Andrea Lucas and Commissioner Brittany Panuccio voted to rescind the 2024 guidance with Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal dissenting.
- The action took effect immediately and the document was removed from the EEOC’s website after the vote.
- Kotagal objected to a full rescission conducted without a notice-and-comment period, urging public input before withdrawal.
- The majority said the guidance exceeded the agency’s authority, pointed to a 2025 Texas ruling that vacated gender-identity portions, and cited President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14168.
- Title VII and the Supreme Court’s Bostock precedent remain in force, but employers lose a detailed set of examples as no replacement guidance exists, prompting reliance on federal law, court decisions, and state or local protections while EEOC harassment enforcement continues.