In September, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released proposed updates to workplace harassment guidance that had stalled previously under the Trump administration. The proposed updates would be the first changes to the EEOC’s harassment guidance in nearly a quarter of a century.
With the Democrats controlling the leadership of the commission after the Senate confirmed Kalpana Kotagal’s nomination in July, the draft was approved 3-2. The draft is now open to public comment, which runs to November 1. It is hoped that the guidance will clarify changes in civil rights law and society over the past 25 years, such as the Supreme Court’s 2020 Bostock ruling and the large-scale adoption of remote work, which is posing new challenges for workers and employers.
The proposed changes come as the EEOC has been pursuing several high-profile harassment cases against corporate giants Walmart and Tesla. Although the guidance, if approved, would be non-binding, it would be a relevant citation in legal proceedings.
