Equality Caucus Slams Latest Anti-Trans Move by EEOC

February 26, 2026
Press Release

WASHINGTON, DC — Following the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) reversal of its landmark decision in the transgender rights case, Lusardi v. Department of the Army (2015), Congressional Equality Caucus Chair Rep. Mark Takano (CA-39) released the following statement:

 

“The EEOC was created with the explicit mission of protecting American workers from discrimination—but under Trump and Chair Andrea Lucas, the Commission has abandoned its duty in order to push Trump’s radical, anti-equality, and anti-worker agenda. Andrea Lucas has spent her time leading EEOC undermining enforcement of minority workers’ rights—she’s exactly who the Commission was designed to fight back against,” said Rep. Mark Takano, Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus. “The Supreme Court made clear in Bostock that transgender workers are protected from discrimination; the EEOC cannot undue those protections. Overturning the Lusardi precedent is just Andrea Lucas’s latest slap in the face to every American who has faced discrimination because of their gender identity. Authorizing vigilante bathroom police doesn’t just endanger transgender people—it puts every girl and woman at risk, especially those who don’t fit Republican extremists’ idea of what women “should” look like or act.”

 

Lusardi v. Department of the Army (2015) was a landmark decision by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that held that prohibiting a transgender employee from using the restroom consistent with their gender identity is unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  The Commission also held that intentional, repeated misgendering of transgender employees is also unlawful sex discrimination.

 

Today, the EEOC issued a Federal Sector Appellate Decision overturning the portion of Lusardi dealing with transgender federal employee’s access to restrooms at work. Specifically, the Decision permits a federal agency employer to exclude transgender employees from bathrooms that align with their gender identity. The decision also states that transgender men are not men and transgender women are not women, stating that a “man who identifies as a “transwoman” is still a man; a woman who identifies as a “transman” is still a woman.” The decision also misgenders a federal employee. EEOC’s decision “applies only to federal agencies subject to the E.E.O.C.’s administrative complaint process for federal employees.” This decision does not apply to private employers, nor does it bind any federal court. 

 

During the Second Trump Administration, President Trump, the EEOC, and other federal agencies have launched an overwhelming number of attacks on the rights of transgender workers. This includes (but is not limited to):

  • President Trump signing an Executive Order that instructed federal agencies to implement bans on transgender people using bathrooms and other intimate spaces that align with their gender identity (January 20, 2025)
  • President Trump rescinding the Executive Order that created the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which was critical to ensuring federal contractors not reached by Title VII were not illegally discriminating (January 21, 2025)
  • OPM directing federal agencies to ban transgender people from using restrooms and single-sex facilities that align with their gender identity (January 29, 2025)
  • EEOC instructing EEOC staff to not process transgender workers’ complaints alleging gender identity-based discrimination (February 6, 2025)
  • EEOC filing motions to dismiss cases with prejudice that the commission had previously brought against businesses accused of discriminating against employees based on their gender identity (February 14, 2025)
  • EEOC instructing EEOC staff to classify transgender workers’ complaints alleging gender identity-based discrimination at the lowest level of categorization, typically reserved for “meritless charges” (April 18, 2025)
  • EEOC informing state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPAs) that handling of gender identity-based discrimination cases will not qualify for financial support from the federal government (May 20, 2025)
  • EEOC rescinding workplace harassment guidance that, among other provisions, highlighted examples of unlawful harassment against transgender, as well as other, workers (January 23, 2026)

 

Members of the Congressional Equality Caucus have been fighting back against the President Trump and EEOC’s attacks on transgender workers. This includes:

  • CEC Chair Takano and Ranking Members Raskin and Connolly demanding OPM cease implementation of Trump’s anti-trans Executive Order (February 5, 2025)
  • CEC Chair Takano demanding Acting EEOC Chair resign over her failure to uphold the law’s protections for transgender employees (February 15, 2025)
  • CEC Chair Takano, Ranking Member Scott, and CEC Vice Chair Bonamici leading 70 members in demanding the EEOC resume processing of claims alleging gender-identity based discrimination (June 13, 2025)
  • Congressional Caucus leaders leading 74 members in urging EEOC to retain the workplace harassment guidance that highlighted examples of unlawful harassment against transgender, as well as other, workers (November 25, 2025)
  • Congressional Caucus leaders condemning EEOC’s rescission of workplace harassment guidance that highlighted examples of unlawful harassment against transgender, as well as other, workers (January 22, 2026)