The Trump administration has taken a significant step towards undermining workplace protections for millions of Americans. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency responsible for enforcing anti-harassment laws, has voted to revoke its existing guidelines on what constitutes workplace harassment and how to address it.
The move is part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump's administration to scale back labor protections and create an environment that fosters harassment and discrimination in the workplace. The EEOC's new stance will leave millions of workers vulnerable to harassment, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those with disabilities.
Under the leadership of Trump-appointed chair Andrea Lucas, the EEOC has already watered down its guidance on harassment in 2025, removing sections related to sexual orientation and gender identity. The new vote further erodes protections for all protected groups, including racial harassment, age-based discrimination, and sex-based harassment.
The consequences of this decision will be severe. Workplace harassment can have devastating personal impacts, causing lasting economic harm to employees by stunting their life-time earnings, undermining their upward mobility, and even prompting them to change careers entirely. Employers will also feel the effects, with low morale and voluntary employee turnover costing businesses an estimated $1 trillion per year.
The pervasiveness of workplace harassment is staggering. Only one-quarter of female employees report experiencing sexual harassment when asked directly, while 60% of women report experiencing harassment if given specific examples. LGBTQ+ individuals are already facing immense challenges in the workplace, with verbal harassment, including offensive comments and slurs, being a common experience.
The EEOC's failure to enforce anti-harassment laws will leave transgender Americans without protection, as their rights have been effectively erased. The commission is also making it more difficult for state employment commissions to pursue cases, leaving federal court as the only option for LGBTQ+ workers in states without anti-discrimination protections.
This decision will soon affect millions of American workers, including people of color, women, disabled workers, and others. Employers and our economy at large will take a huge hit. It is imperative that state departments of labor issue and update their own anti-harassment policy guidelines and training to preserve what may soon be lost.
Congress must pass the Equality Act, which would add explicit protections for LGBTQ+ people to our country's civil rights laws. In the meantime, we must raise the alarm about this egregious decision and demand that our government enforces anti-harassment laws that protect all workers.
The move is part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump's administration to scale back labor protections and create an environment that fosters harassment and discrimination in the workplace. The EEOC's new stance will leave millions of workers vulnerable to harassment, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those with disabilities.
Under the leadership of Trump-appointed chair Andrea Lucas, the EEOC has already watered down its guidance on harassment in 2025, removing sections related to sexual orientation and gender identity. The new vote further erodes protections for all protected groups, including racial harassment, age-based discrimination, and sex-based harassment.
The consequences of this decision will be severe. Workplace harassment can have devastating personal impacts, causing lasting economic harm to employees by stunting their life-time earnings, undermining their upward mobility, and even prompting them to change careers entirely. Employers will also feel the effects, with low morale and voluntary employee turnover costing businesses an estimated $1 trillion per year.
The pervasiveness of workplace harassment is staggering. Only one-quarter of female employees report experiencing sexual harassment when asked directly, while 60% of women report experiencing harassment if given specific examples. LGBTQ+ individuals are already facing immense challenges in the workplace, with verbal harassment, including offensive comments and slurs, being a common experience.
The EEOC's failure to enforce anti-harassment laws will leave transgender Americans without protection, as their rights have been effectively erased. The commission is also making it more difficult for state employment commissions to pursue cases, leaving federal court as the only option for LGBTQ+ workers in states without anti-discrimination protections.
This decision will soon affect millions of American workers, including people of color, women, disabled workers, and others. Employers and our economy at large will take a huge hit. It is imperative that state departments of labor issue and update their own anti-harassment policy guidelines and training to preserve what may soon be lost.
Congress must pass the Equality Act, which would add explicit protections for LGBTQ+ people to our country's civil rights laws. In the meantime, we must raise the alarm about this egregious decision and demand that our government enforces anti-harassment laws that protect all workers.
can you believe they're rolling back these already super thin guidelines? 
workplace harassment is already a massive problem, don't need to make it worse! 
women, POC, LGBTQ+ folks are already struggling in the workplace, now they'll be left exposed. 
1 trillion dollars lost due to employee turnover? 
that's not even counting the emotional toll on workers. someone needs to push Congress to pass the Equality Act ASAP 
and let's get our state departments of labor on it too! 
This is a super concerning development - the EEOC's move to revoke its guidelines on workplace harassment is utterly misguided. By essentially erasing protections for millions of Americans, especially those from marginalized groups like trans individuals and people of color, the Trump administration is leaving a toxic culture of harassment in our workplaces unchallenged 
. It's mind-boggling that they're so cavalier about stunting the lifetime earnings and life mobility of workers just to boost business profits 
. The economic consequences will be staggering - low morale, voluntary turnover, and a huge hit to employers too. We need to get our lawmakers on board with the Equality Act ASAP 
This is so unfair 
. I feel like it's a huge step backwards for women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals 
. How can we just ignore workplace harassment? It's not okay 
. The EEOC needs to do more than just revoke guidelines 
. They need to create new ones that actually protect us 
. This is a huge problem, and we can't just sit around and do nothing 
. Their rights are being erased, and it's heartbreaking 
.
! In the meantime, we must raise our voices and demand action from our government 
. State departments of labor need to update their guidelines and training programs to preserve what may be lost 
.
that Trump is still trying to make the workplace a toxic place 
. I mean, can't he just chill? 
Anyway, this new EEOC guideline change is like, woah - what's next? 
Nope, not on my watch! 
. Employers gotta realize that their employees' well-being & safety should be top priority 
. This decision is a huge step backwards for equality & justice, and it's only gonna make things harder for marginalized groups 
This is so messed up! The EEOC has basically thrown away years of progress on tackling workplace harassment 
.
. It's time for our leaders to take action and fight for the rights of all workers 
!
I feel like we're taking a huge step backward as a society. 
This is a huge step backwards for equality in the US 
.
. Let's raise our voices against harassment & demand better from our leaders 
. The EEOC's new stance on workplace harassment is just a smokescreen for some bigger agenda 
. I mean, why would they revoke their guidelines on harassment and leave millions of workers vulnerable to all sorts of abuse? It's not like they're trying to create a toxic work environment or anything 
. I think we need to dig deeper into this one and see if there's any connection between Trump's administration and some shadowy corporate interests 
.