The EEOC is seeking comments until February 9 on proposed enforcement guidance addressing harassment under federal EEO laws that apply to both the public and private sectors.
The guidance is designed to better explain the legal standards applicable to harassment claims under laws to protect individuals from harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, or genetic information.
The EEOC said that as of 2015, 44 percent of complaints filed before it by federal employees involved such allegations. In the private sector, it said, it was 31 percent.
The proposed guidance is the result of work lasting more than a year by a task force of academic experts, legal practitioners from the plaintiff and defense sides, employers, employee advocacy groups and labor, followed by a public hearing last June.
The proposed guidance and information regarding how to comment are on the EEOC site.
