On January 22, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted 2–1 to rescind its 2024 Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace, No. 915.064 (the 2024 Guidance), an almost 200‑page document that consolidated decades of agency positions and practices for preventing and correcting harassment.
The Republican majority—Chair Andrea Lucas and Commissioner Brittany Panuccio—approved the rescission over the dissent of Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal. While the guidance was nonbinding, employers across industries had relied on it for clarity on Title VII standards, modern forms of harassment, and the agency’s views following the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County.
Link to Timeline and Purposes of the Rescission Timeline and Purposes of the Rescission
The 2024 Guidance was the EEOC’s first update of the document since 1999. Not long after its release in April 2024, President Trump took office, and in his Executive Order 14168, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, issued on January 30, 2025, called for a rescission of the 2024 Guidance.
At that time, the EEOC lacked a quorum to address President Trump’s direction. However, in October 2025, Commissioner Panuccio’s confirmation restored a quorum. Separately, changes to the Commission’s internal voting procedures placed more authority with the Chair, enabling faster policy reversals.
On January 22, 2026, the EEOC commissioners rescinded the 2024 Guidance in a 2–1 vote without a 30-day notice-and-comment period for the following reasons: (1) President Trump’s instruction in Executive Order 14168; (2) a federal district court in Texas’s vacatur of portions of the 2024 Guidance addressing sexual orientation and gender identity, concluding the agency exceeded its authority in certain applications post-Bostock, such as pronoun usage and bathroom access; and (3) an interpretation that the 2024 Guidance constituted an impermissible legislative rulemaking.
Dissenting Commissioner Kotagal warned that the move discards widely accepted best practices and leaves employers and workers without a clear, unified reference point, particularly on training, complaint procedures, and addressing emerging forms of workplace misconduct. Worker and civil rights groups criticized both the substance and the process, noting the years-long development of the 2024 Guidance and substantial public input behind it.
Link to Practical Implications for Employers Practical Implications for Employers
The loss of the 2024 Guidance elevates compliance costs as companies synthesize case law and varying state rules, and may spur more forum shopping and private lawsuits, but it does not alter the underlying law. Per Bostock, which has not been overturned, workplace discrimination based on homosexuality or transgender status is discrimination on the basis of sex in violation of Title VII. To this point, some argue the 2024 Guidance was rescinded merely to make a statement about the current Administration’s gender politics.
Regardless, Title VII and other federal anti-discrimination statutes still prohibit harassment based on protected characteristics. And, state and local anti-harassment laws, many of which are broader than federal law, remain in force.
The Commission has not yet indicated when, or if, it will issue narrower replacement guidance that addresses areas of broad consensus while leaving contested questions to the courts. Employers should monitor for replacement or narrower EEOC guidance and subsequent court activity that refines the law. In the meantime, disciplined prevention, prompt investigations, and careful documentation are more important than ever.
If you have any questions about the loss of the guidance and how it could affect your business, please contact one of the authors.