Trump’s EEOC Changes Explained: What HR Leaders Need to Know

President Trump made significant changes to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) when he returned to the White House. 

Here’s what happened – and what it means for HR.

New EEOC Leadership

As expected, President Trump fired Karla Gilbride, the EEOC’s General Counsel, who was confirmed for a four-year term in 2023. Trump has since named Andrew Rogers as the acting general counsel.

In an unprecedented move, Trump removed two commissioners before their terms were set to expire. Commissioner Charlotte Burrows’ third term was set to expire in 2028, and Commissioner Jocelyn Samuels’ term was set to expire in 2026. 

Trump also appointed Andrea Lucas as Acting Chair of the EEOC. Lucas has been an outspoken critic of DEI initiatives.

In a statement, Lucas said she looks “forward to restoring evenhanded enforcement of employment civil rights laws for all Americans” and outlined her priorities for the agency:

• Root out unlawful DEI-motivated race and sex discrimination
• Protect American workers from anti-American national origin discrimination
• Defend the biological and binary reality of sex and related rights, including women’s rights to single‑sex spaces at work
• Protect workers from religious bias and harassment, including antisemitism, and 
• Remedy other areas of recent under-enforcement.

Lucas also noted that her priorities align with President Trump’s recent executive orders on DEI and gender ideology.

EEOC Takes Action on Gender Ideology

For example, “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” was one first executive orders Trump issued when he returned to the White House. 

Among other things, the order says that U.S. policy recognizes only two sexes, male and female, and states that “sex” is distinct from “gender identity.” It directs federal agencies and employees to use the term “sex” rather than “gender” in all official policies and documents. The order also defines “gender identity” as a personal sense of self and requires agencies to update regulations, forms and communications.

In response to this order, Lucas announced that the EEOC has taken the following steps to comply:

• Removed the agency’s “pronoun app,” a feature in employees’ Microsoft 365 profiles, which allowed employees to identify pronouns, which appeared alongside the person’s display name on all Microsoft 365 platforms, including Outlook and Teams, and was visible to both internal and external parties.
• Ended the use of the “X” gender marker during the intake process for filing a charge of discrimination.
• Directed the modification of the charge of discrimination and related forms to remove “Mx.” from the list of prefix options.
• Commenced review of the content of EEOC’s “Know Your Rights” poster, which all covered employers are required by law to post in their workplaces.
• Removed materials promoting gender ideology on the EEOC’s internal and external websites and documents, including webpages, statements, social media platforms, forms, training and others. 
• Added a banner to publicly accessible items on the materials that were not immediately removed or revised due to the ongoing review.

Action Steps for HR Leaders

1. Assess DEI Programs

Many HR pros have strong views on DEI. Whether your company is in the “ditch DEI” camp or plans to double down on DEI initiatives, it makes good business sense to evaluate the company’s hiring, promotion, and workplace initiatives to ensure compliance with the EEOC’s focus on “evenhanded enforcement.”

Moreover, employers should be prepared for potential EEOC investigations and legal challenges if current DEI policies explicitly consider race or sex. 

Last month, Kimberly Cheeseman, Co-Head of Litigation and Disputes at Norton Rose Fulbright, discussed DEI backlash and an upcoming Supreme Court case. 

In Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, the Court will determine whether a majority plaintiff must meet a heightened standard of showing to support a reverse discrimination lawsuit.

If the plaintiff prevails in Ames, Cheeseman predicted that we could see an increase in reverse discrimination lawsuits. Mark your calendar: Oral arguments are set for Feb. 26.

2. Review Workplace Policies & Training

As noted, the EEOC has – or will be – revising definitions of sex, gender and related terms. And that means EEOC guidance will likely be changing based on those terms. 

You may want to update harassment, discrimination, and accommodation training to reflect these changes. A couple of specific areas to watch for updated agency guidance include transgender restroom use and PWFA accommodations related to abortions.

3. Check Compliance with Federal Posting & Documentation Requirements

Keep an eye out for changes to the “Know Your Rights” poster and other EEOC materials. The agency has already started the process of reviewing the mandatory poster, so updated posters may be on the horizon.

The civil money penalty for EEOC poster violations is currently $680 – so you don’t want to get hit with a fine for overlooking a poster update.