PROTECTING TRANSGENDER WORKERS
FreeState Justice v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The Trump-era Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has stopped serving transgender workers. On behalf of leading civil rights organizations, we’re asking the court to force the EEOC to reopen its doors.
THE IMPACT
A win in this case would force the EEOC to resume protecting transgender workers, and establish a new precedent that executive branch agencies don’t get to choose whose civil rights count.
THE BRIEF
In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that it’s illegal to discriminate against transgender workers under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Despite this ruling, transgender people continue to face high rates of employment discrimination and harassment, and the EEOC is often their only accessible path to relief.
In January 2025, President Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to recognize only two sexes and disregard gender identity. Soon after, the EEOC stopped processing complaints from transgender workers and dropped ongoing cases.
On behalf of Advocates for Trans Equality and 11 other national civil rights organizations that advocate for transgender people, including trans and nonbinary workers, we filed an amicus brief urging a federal appeals court to stop the EEOC from unlawfully turning away transgender workers who report discrimination.
“The EEOC’s decision to close the door . . . exclusively for transgender complainants is a direct affront to the Constitution,” we argue in the brief. “First, it undermines the separation and balance of powers between the branches, [and] second, the policy is a clear violation of the Constitution’s guarantee of Equal Protection.”
THE TEAM
Free + Fair and Advocates for Trans Equality are representing the coalition of advocacy organizations pro bono.
