Tennessee Leads 18 States Suing Biden Administration For New Gender Identity Rules For Employers

On Monday, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti led a coalition of 18 states in filing a lawsuit against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) after it released new sexual harassment guidance extending Title VII’s protections against sex-based discrimination to cover gender identity.

On April 29, the EEOC released its new guidance, which insists an employer may be liable under Title VII if they or another employee use a name or pronoun inconsistent with an employee’s preferred gender identity. Not only that, but an employer can be liable by limiting access to a bathroom or other sex-segregated facility, such as a shower or locker room, based on biological sex and not on gender identity. If a customer or other non-employee fails to use an employee’s preferred pronouns or refuses to share a restroom with someone of the opposite sex, the employer could also be sued.