Judge dismisses lawsuit over EEOC rollback of transgender workplace protections

A federal judge in Maryland has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rollback of transgender workplace protections, ruling that the case could not proceed because the plaintiffs lacked standing and the court lacked jurisdiction.

The decision by U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III leaves the EEOC’s current handling of gender-identity discrimination complaints in place for now. The case was brought by FreeState Justice and backed by Democracy Forward and the National Women’s Law Center.

What the court decided

According to the Associated Press, Russell dismissed the case on threshold legal grounds rather than reaching the merits of the policy dispute. The ruling means the court did not decide whether the EEOC’s changes were lawful under federal employment law.

The lawsuit sought to block what advocates described as the agency’s retreat from transgender workplace protections. AP reported that the EEOC and the U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment on the decision.

The policy fight behind the case

The lawsuit focused on the EEOC’s handling of transgender-related discrimination complaints under Chair Andrea Lucas. AP reported that the agency had dropped lawsuits supporting transgender workers and imposed stricter scrutiny on gender-identity discrimination complaints.

That shift came after President Donald Trump’s January 2025 executive order recognizing only two sexes, which AP said formed part of the policy backdrop for the agency’s actions. The dispute became part of a broader fight over how aggressively the federal civil rights agency should pursue transgender worker protections.

A Washington Post report in July 2025 said the EEOC later resumed processing some transgender discrimination complaints after an earlier pause, underscoring how the agency’s posture had already changed several times before the lawsuit was dismissed.

Legal backdrop

The case sits against the Supreme Court’s 2020 Bostock v. Clayton County decision, which held that Title VII protects gay and transgender workers from sex discrimination. The new ruling does not change that precedent, but it does leave open a separate question about how far courts can go in reviewing EEOC enforcement choices.

That jurisdictional issue was central to Russell’s dismissal. For now, the ruling keeps the focus on whether the agency’s enforcement priorities are subject to court challenge, rather than on the underlying merits of the protections themselves.

Reactions and next steps

The National Women’s Law Center said it was reviewing the decision and considering its options, according to AP. FreeState Justice and its allies could also decide whether to appeal or try a revised legal challenge.

The case is likely to remain a live policy issue even after the dismissal. Advocacy groups have continued pressing the EEOC to restore broader transgender-worker protections, while the agency’s current enforcement approach remains in force unless changed by the courts or the administration.

The ruling gives the EEOC a procedural win, but it does not settle the larger political and legal fight over how federal workplace discrimination law should apply to transgender workers.