STATEMENT: Trump Administration Pulls Down Workplace Anti-Harassment Guidance, Abandoning Workers

January 22. 2026

For Immediate Release
Jan 22, 2026

Media Contact
Nazirah Ahmad
[email protected]

Statement by Noreen Farrell, Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates (ERA), which fights for gender justice in workplaces and schools across the country, about the EEOC rescinding enforcement guidance on harassment in the workplace 

Jan. 22, 2026 — “Today the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted to rescind the 2024 Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace, abandoning millions of workers who face harassment on the job and sending a clear message that this administration will not lift a finger to protect them. 

Trump-installed Chair Andrea Lucas orchestrated this rescission through the back door, refusing to issue the opportunity for public comment. When the EEOC issued this guidance in 2024, it solicited public input and received over 38,000 comments. Lucas did not provide an opportunity to weigh in on its elimination. Requests for meetings to discuss the rescission, including ERA’s request, were canceled. This administration does not want to hear from the workers it is abandoning.

The harm to affected workers is immense. Women, workers of color, LGBTQIA+ employees, and every other worker facing harassment on the job have relied on this guidance to understand their rights to be free from abusive workplaces. It also represented a commitment by our federal government and the EEOC to help workers navigate longstanding federal laws and regulations protecting them from unlawful harm in their workplaces.

Rescission of the EEOC’s workplace harassment guidance does not just abandon workers; it abandons employers committed to anti-harassment workplace rights. The EEOC issues guidance to help employers understand and comply with harassment laws. The 2024 guidance spelled out what conduct constitutes illegal harassment, how employers should respond to complaints, and what steps they must take to prevent hostile work environments. Without it, employers lose the roadmap for compliance, and workers lose the clear standards that give their complaints weight.  

Adding insult to injury, Chair Lucas has called on more white men to file discrimination complaints while pulling down information that would help everyone—a cynical framing that ignores reality. Research shows that 64% of workers who file harassment claims lose their jobs and 68% experience employer retaliation, regardless of race or gender. White men already file discrimination charges at rates proportional to their reported experiences. Lucas is elevating one protected class over all others, while signaling disregard for millions of others.

The Trump Administration’s rescission of the EEOC workplace harassment guidance is about weaponizing a civil rights agency against the very people it was created to protect.”

To speak with equal pay experts from Equal Rights Advocates, contact Nazirah Ahmad at (704) 290-6869 or [email protected].