THIS must be part of your 2025 anti-harassment training if it’s not already,

In the past week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has brought two lawsuits against employers that allegedly violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by discriminating against transgender employees.

In one of the lawsuits, the EEOC claims that a transgender employee complained that she believed a manager had outed her to other employees. Consequently, coworkers misgendered her, prompting a customer to make an offensive comment using both an LGBTQ+ slur and a racial slur. This prompted the employee to complain again. However, this time, a manager took her badge, which the EEOC alleges was tantamount to firing her, as it prevented her from returning to work.

If the EEOC can substantiate these allegations, it has a decent claim for retaliation under Title VII. Title VII protects employees who, in good faith, object to discrimination from subsequent adverse employment action for complaining.

In the other lawsuit, the EEOC alleges that a supervisor referred to a transgender employee as a “transformer,” made multiple offensive, derogatory comments about being transgender, and repeatedly misgendered the employee or referred to them as “it.”

And that was just the first day of work.

According to the EEOC, the employee promptly complained to local managers and a corporate office. But instead of taking action to stop the unlawful conduct, management suggested that … wait for it … wait for it … the job might not be a good fit and told the employee their services were no longer needed.

If true, this conduct is not only disrespectful but also in violation of Title VII. That federal antidiscrimination law prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on their sex, which, according to the Supreme Court, includes sexual orientation and transgender status. The EEOC’s enforcement position is that a hostile work environment based on sexual orientation or gender identity (e.g., offensive or derogatory remarks about a person’s transgender status or gender transition) is unlawful. Plus, many state and local laws explicitly prohibit discrimination based on LGBT status.

Misgendering someone once or twice isn’t actionable. People make mistakes. However, the EEOC emphasizes that “intentionally and repeatedly using the wrong name and pronouns to refer to a transgender employee could contribute to an unlawful hostile work environment.”

The harasser doesn’t have to be the victim’s supervisor or coworker. Employers must answer for customers, vendors, and other third parties that foster a hostile work environment.

So, if you haven’t been training your workforce on transgender discrimination, you may end up reading about the consequences on this blog. Conversely, if you need an employment lawyer to help your proactive company avoid the action sequence—like the scientist dork in the action movie, the one the government ignores—I know someone who can help.