Vice Chair Samuels speaks on EEOC initiatives

At a recent virtual conference, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Jocelyn Samuels spoke to an employer organization on the commission’s latest litigation and initiatives. Samuels noted that the commission is working on its Strategic Enforcement Plan, which identifies its priorities and strategies broadly.

Other topics Samuels covered included:

• The fact that rights of the LGBTQI+ community are a focus for the EEOC despite the setback its guidance has suffered in court.
• Despite Dobbs, it continues to be illegal to discriminate against pregnancy, childbirth, and related issues, including whether an employee considers or has an abortion.
• Harassment is a major focus for the agency, and it is updating its harassment guidance.
• Planning to issue best practices for how to diversify the workplace without violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
• The U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in Harvard and UNC are likely to be relevant to assess what will be lawful under Title VII.

Federal district court finds EEOC LBGTQ guidance unlawful

On October 1, 2022, the U.S. district court for the Northern District of Texas barred the EEOC’s June 2021 technical assistance document on LGBTQ workplace discrimination protections under Title VII. In Texas v. EEOC, Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk held that while the EEOC’s guidance was not arbitrary and capricious, it misapplied the Supreme Court’s 2020 Bostock decision.