Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking to block the Biden administration’s transgender directive, a newly enacted policy requiring employers to use the opposite-sex pronouns of male-born workers who identify as female and allow them access to women’s restrooms and locker rooms.
Mr. Paxton, joined by the conservative Heritage Foundation, filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over its guidance issued in April adding “gender identity” to Title VII, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in the workplace.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is attempting yet again to rewrite federal law through undemocratic and illegal agency action,” Mr. Paxton said.
“This time, they are unlawfully weaponizing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in an attempt to force private businesses and States to implement ‘transgender’ mandates—and Texas is suing to stop them,” he said.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Amarillo Division) argued that the EEOC exceeded its authority when it added “sexual orientation and gender identity” to Title VII.
“Not only does this guidance violate the First Amendment by forcing employees to use pronouns that defy biological reality, but it also forces employers to adopt policies on ‘gender identity’ that may conflict with their values, including religious beliefs,” said Heritage. “The guidance likewise jeopardizes the safety of women by allowing biological men into women’s restrooms and locker rooms.”
The lawsuit said the EEOC guidance requires employers to provide accommodations on pronouns, bathrooms and dress codes, citing Title VII’s prohibition against workplace sexual harassment.
“That is completely wrong,” the 31-page lawsuit said. “An employee’s statutory right to be free from sexual harassment is not an ‘accommodation’ to certain employees, such that some employees may be harassed, and others may not.”
The EEOC cited the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which ruled in favor of a funeral-home employee fired after transitioning from male to female, but the lawsuit contended that the EEOC has misread the decision.
“The Bostock majority very carefully limited its holding — that Title VII prohibits firing a male employee who says he believes he is female or a female employee who says she believes she is male — and did not discuss how such employers must accommodate such employees in the workplace,” the complaint said. “Moreover, Title VII does not require employers to make accommodations for sex.”
The EEOC issued in April an updated “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace,” saying the revised version “reflects the EEOC’s commitment to protecting persons who are particularly vulnerable and persons from underserved communities from employment discrimination.”
Heritage Foundation Joins Texas in Lawsuit Against Biden Administration for Violating First Amendment and Risking the Safety of Women via @Heritage https://t.co/1vmDnU0Dzi
— Jay W. Richards (@DrJayRichards) August 15, 2024
Dan Mauler, Heritage Foundation general counsel, called the guidance “another blatant abuse of federal power by the Biden-Harris administration.”
“The EEOC has exceeded the limits Congress placed on its authority and placed women at risk with the new guidance,” Mr. Mauler said.
“We are proud to defend traditional American values, religious groups, small businesses, and American families from this illegal overreach.”
The Biden administration also is grappling with state coalitions challenging its decision to add “gender identity” to Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education.
Federal judges have blocked the regulation from taking effect in 26 states.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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