Civil Rights agency decides against transgender Army worker who asked to use women’s bathroom

U.S. civil rights agency has ruled that the federal government can prohibit transgender employees from using bathrooms matching their gender identity, rejecting an appeal from a transgender woman employed by the U.S. Army.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its decision Thursday against a civilian IT specialist at Fort Riley, Kansas. The employee, whose identity was withheld, had informed her managers in summer 2025 that she identified as a woman and requested access to women’s bathrooms and locker rooms. After the Army denied her request and dismissed her complaint, she appealed to the EEOC.

In its 2-1 decision, the EEOC cited President Donald Trump’s executive order recognizing only two immutable sexes—male and female—as the basis for its ruling. The commission repeatedly referred to the employee as a man throughout its decision.

EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas defended the ruling, stating: “Today’s opinion is consistent with the plain meaning of ‘sex’ as understood by Congress at the time Title VII was enacted, as well as longstanding civil rights principles: that similarly situated employees must be treated equally. Biology is not bigotry.”

The commission argued that interpreting Title VII to allow transgender employees access to facilities matching their gender identity would effectively eliminate single-sex facilities. “All bathrooms would be mixed-sex by law, and every employee would be required to perform bodily and other private functions in the presence of the opposite-sex,” the EEOC wrote.

This ruling marks a significant reversal from the EEOC’s landmark finding a decade ago that recognized denying bathroom access based on gender identity as discrimination. The commission now contends that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, does not extend to bathroom access for transgender employees.

The lone Democratic commissioner, Kalpana Kotagal, issued a strong dissent, arguing the decision “rests on the false premise that transgender workers are not worthy of the agency’s protection from discrimination and harassment and that protecting them threatens the rights of other workers. Worse, it suggests that transgender people do not exist.”

Since taking office, Lucas has moved aggressively to implement Trump’s orders on gender identity issues, dropping lawsuits on behalf of transgender workers and amending harassment guidelines to exclude protections related to misgendering or bathroom access.

The decision applies exclusively to federal agencies and doesn’t set binding precedent for courts. Private sector employers are not directly affected, though experts note the ruling signals the EEOC is unlikely to pursue cases against companies with similar policies.

Several transgender federal employees have filed formal discrimination complaints regarding the Trump administration’s policies, which have included removing references to “gender ideology” from government websites and reinstating restrictions on transgender military service.

In her dissent, Kotagal cited the 2020 Supreme Court ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which established that Title VII protects transgender workers from discrimination. However, the EEOC majority argued that Bostock only addressed hiring and firing decisions, not bathroom access or the definition of sex.

The EEOC’s decision has drawn praise from conservative advocacy groups. Dan Lennington, deputy counsel at the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, called it a step “in the right direction.” Meanwhile, civil rights organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign and the National Women’s Law Center, have condemned the ruling as leaving transgender workers vulnerable to hostile work environments.

The Congressional Equality Caucus criticized Lucas’s leadership, with Rep. Mark Takano stating: “Andrea Lucas has spent her time leading EEOC undermining enforcement of minority workers’ rights — she’s exactly who the Commission was designed to fight back against.”

The Army employee can request reconsideration from the EEOC within 30 days or file a new case in federal district court within 90 days.