US states sue over EEOC's policy on transgender workers
A group of Republican-led U.S. states filed a lawsuit seeking to block the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from enforcing broad legal protections for transgender workers.
The 18 states filed the complaint in federal court in Knoxville, Tennessee, late Monday
They said the federal workplace bias agency lacked the power to assert that federal law requires employers to use transgender workers' preferred pronouns and allow them to use bathrooms that match their gender identity.
Supreme Court ruling that said discriminating against gay and transgender workers is a form of unlawful sex bias.
The EEOC in the guidance said denying accommodations to transgender workers amounts to workplace harassment based on sex.
"EEOC has no authority to resolve these highly controversial and localized issues, which are properly reserved for Congress and the states," they said.
Guidance is meant to direct the enforcement activities of EEOC staff, who investigate worker complaints and can broker settlements or file lawsuits against employers,
Agencies have argued in past cases that enforcement guidance cannot be reviewed in court.