Federal agency shifts stance on transgender discrimination complaints...

[Jessica_Rose]

Federal agency shifts stance on transgender discrimination complaints, but hurdles remain

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/federal-agency-shifts-stance-on-transgender-discrimination-complaints-but-hurdles-remain/ar-AA1IFmyX?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=907ccd4d546c4841aef8579c92ed7d6b&ei=6

Story by CLAIRE SAVAGE (15 July 2025)

The federal agency responsible for enforcing laws against workplace discrimination will allow some complaints filed by transgender workers to move forward, shifting course from earlier guidance that indefinitely stalled all such cases, according to an email obtained by The Associated Press.

The email was sent earlier this month to leaders of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with the subject line "Hot Topics," in which Thomas Colclough, director of the agency's Office of Field Programs, announced that if new transgender worker complaints involve "hiring, discharge or promotion, you are clear to continue processing these charges."

But even those cases will still be subject to higher scrutiny than other types of workplace discrimination cases, requiring approval from President Donald Trump's appointed acting agency head Andrea Lucas, who has said that one of her priorities would be "defending the biological and binary reality of sex and related rights."

Colclough acknowledged in his July 1 email that the EEOC will consider transgender discrimination complaints that "fall squarely under" the Supreme Court's ruling, such as cases involving hiring, firing and promotion. The email backtracked on an earlier policy, communicated verbally, that de-prioritized all transgender cases.