On Monday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released updated guidance detailing that employers who refuse to use transgender workers’ preferred pronouns or who prevent them from using bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity are engaging in unlawful workplace harassment. The guidance will go into effect immediately.
“Harassment, both in-person and online, remains a serious issue in America’s workplaces. The EEOC’s updated guidance on harassment is a comprehensive resource that brings together best practices for preventing and remedying harassment and clarifies recent developments in the law,” EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows said in a press release.
Discrimination against LGBTQ people, especially against queer and transgender people of color, is alarmingly prevalent. According to a 2021 report by the Williams Institute, 46 percent of LGBTQ workers have experienced unfair treatment at some point in their career, including being fired, harassed or not hired because of their sexual........