Federal employers can lawfully block transgender workers from using bathrooms and changing facilities that align with their gender identity, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled Thursday in an administrative appeal involving a civilian Army employee.
A rule the U.S. Department of Labor proposed Thursday would largely return to a prior test for whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee, but it could have even less sway in federal courts than its previous iteration did, attorneys said.
Some federal courts' recent deviation from the long-settled standard for analyzing employer liability in third-party harassment cases has prompted the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to try to course-correct, but guidance from the nation's highest court may ultimately be necessary, experts said.