In recent years more than a third of all discrimination charges received by the EEOC included an allegation of harassment based on race, sex, disability, or another characteristic. Image: Zenza Flarini/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffA federal court has invalidated parts of guidance the EEOC issued last year on harassment in the workplace, applying to both the federal and private sectors, as it pertained to sexual orientation and gender identity.
Those sections spelled out what is to be considered violations of the Civil Rights Act for reasons including “harassing conduct because an individual does not present in a manner that would stereotypically be associated with that person’s sex; repeated and intentional use of a name or pronoun inconsistent with the individual’s known gender identity (misgendering); or the denial of access to a bathroom or other sex-segregated facility consistent with the individual’s gender identity.”
The guidance overall reflected changes in law since the prior version was issued in 1999, including examples of situations that constitute harassment, not only by coworkers or supervisors, but also by customers, contractors, and other third parties. It also addressed issues related to virtual work settings and the impact of digital technology and social media on how harassment occurs in the work environment.
Other portions are not affected by the court’s decision. The EEOC said it cannot change the guidance to delete the portions that are affected since it lacks a quorum on its governing board but for the meantime has updated that guidance to identify them.
The current EEOC acting chair, Andrea Lucas, was one of the Republican members at the time who voted against issuing the guidance and who were outvoted by the then-Democratic majority.
In recent years more than a third of all discrimination charges received by the EEOC included an allegation of harassment based on race, sex, disability, or another characteristic covered those laws, and harassment has been alleged in over half of federal sector equal employment opportunity complaints, the EEOC said at the time.
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