Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti of Tennessee is leading a coalition of eighteen states in a lawsuit against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), alleging federal agency overreach. The suit was filed in response to new sexual harassment guidance issued by the EEOC on April 29, 2024, which extends Title VII’s protections against sex-based discrimination to include gender identity.
According to the EEOC's guidance, employers could be held liable under Title VII if they or another employee use a name or pronoun inconsistent with an employee’s preferred gender identity. Furthermore, liability could also arise if an employer restricts access to bathrooms or other sex-segregated facilities based on biological sex rather than gender identity. Employers may also be held accountable if a customer or non-employee refuses to use an employee’s preferred pronouns or share a restroom with someone of the opposite sex.
“In America, the Constitution gives the power to make laws to the people’s elected representatives, not to unaccountable commissioners, and this EEOC guidance is an attack on our constitutional separation of powers,” said Attorney General Skrmetti. “When, as here, a federal agency engages in government over the people instead of government by the people, it undermines the legitimacy of our laws and alienates Americans from our legal system. This end-run around our constitutional institutions misuses federal power to eliminate women’s private spaces and punish the use of biologically-accurate pronouns, all at the expense of Tennessee employers.”
Tennessee has previously led successful efforts against perceived abuses of federal power. In 2022, Tennessee spearheaded a coalition that secured an injunction against an earlier EEOC guidance document imposing similar requirements.
Joining Tennessee in this lawsuit are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.
The full complaint can be accessed here.