Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton Sues Biden Admin­is­tra­tion Over Rule Forc­ing Pri­vate Busi­ness­es and States to Imple­ment ​“Trans­gen­der” Policies

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, and other Biden Administration officials to halt an enforcement guidance that unlawfully seeks to require employers to implement "transgender" mandates or risk being sued for discrimination or harassment.

On April 29, 2024, the EEOC issued an unlawful enforcement guidance by a split vote that purported to rewrite the workplace protections against sexual harassment in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to broaden the definition of "discrimination," opening private and state employers up to EEOC lawsuits if they did not accommodate employees' "gender identity" rather than biological sex. The guidance would force employers, both state and private, to use so-called "preferred pronouns," allow biological males into women's facilities, and abolish sex-specific workplace dress codes. The EEOC's guidance relies on an intentional misrepresentation of the Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The EEOC has exceeded its statutory authority by issuing guidance that contradicts the law and violates the Administrative Procedure Act. Attorney General Paxton requested that the guidance be permanently enjoined and that the Biden Administration be prevented from enforcing any aspect of the rule. The Heritage Foundation is a co-plaintiff, joining Texas in this suit.

"The Biden-Harris Administration is attempting yet again to rewrite federal law through undemocratic and illegal agency action. 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," said Attorney General Paxton.

Dan Mauler, General Counsel for The Heritage Foundation, said, "Heritage is proud to join the great state of Texas as co-plaintiff to fight another blatant abuse of federal power by the Biden/Harris Administration-the EEOC's new harassment guidance. The EEOC has exceeded the limits Congress placed on their authority, violated the First Amendment, and placed women at risk with their new guidance. We are proud to be defending small businesses and American families from this illegal overreach."

To read the filing, click here.