EEOC Rescinds Harassment Guidance

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has voted to rescind the 2024 harassment guidance issued during President Biden’s term which had been partially vacated by a federal court because it unlawfully expanded the definition of “sex.” The EEOC’s decision to now vacate the entire guidance has little impact upon Nevada employers, and harassment charges remain a priority for the EEOC. 

An EEOC guidance represents the administrative agency’s interpretation of a law; it is not binding on a court but can help employers understand how the agency will apply the law to a charge of discrimination. At times, the EEOC has taken an overly expansive view of the law as it did in the 2024 harassment guidance in relation to its application of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County that discharging an employee because of sexual orientation or transgender status constitutes sex discrimination. The EEOC’s decision to rescind the embattled harassment guidance conforms with the reviewing court’s finding as well as President Trump’s directive in Executive Order 14168: Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government. 

This development is simply a policy change that has little to no effect on Nevada employers. In rescinding the harassment guidance, the EEOC was careful to caution employers that nothing has changed: “Federal employment laws against discrimination, harassment, and retaliation . . . remain firmly in place.” Moreover, an employer’s obligation to protect employees from, and remedy, harassment in the workplace should continue to be a priority. To that end, portions of the 2024 harassment guidance remain viable, informal guidance for employers’ training and policy purposes.

If you have questions about what this change means for a particular case or which portions of the guidance to specifically disregard, please contact a KZA attorney. 

KZA Employer Report articles are for general information only; they are not intended and should not be construed to be legal advice. Reading or replying to such articles does not establish an attorney-client relationship. In addition, because the subject matters and applicable laws discussed in Employer Report articles are often in a state of change and not always applicable to every type of business entity or organization, readers should consult with counsel before making decisions based on the same.