EEOC Halts Investigating Discrimination, LGBTQ+ Claims

The move comes days after President Trump dismissed two of three Democratic commissioners and the general counsel in a round a late-night firings.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has ordered its employees to halt processing any claims that allege discrimination for sexual orientation and gender identity that are protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

This comes following sweeping executive orders signed by President Donald Trump, who has vowed to work with his administration to get rid of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that he considers to be “woke” and “gender ideology” policies.

Sources familiar with the situation tell HR Drive that it’s unclear when the processing of these claims will resume.

The pause come days after Trump removed two of three Democratic commissioners and the general counsel from their roles in a round of late-night firings, the New York Times reports.

Charlotte A. Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels were removed as commissioners. Karla Gilbride was removed as general counsel. It is an unprecedented move, even amid a change in leadership. Burrows, who former President Barack Obama appointed, was not supposed to end her term until 2027. Samuels said her term doesn’t end until July 2026.

The EEOC was established on July 2, 1965. It was created by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prevent and remedy discrimination in employment.

Following his inauguration, Trump appointed commissioner Andrea Lucas, a Republican, to serve as acting chair of the E.E.O.C. In a statement, she said she looks forward to “restoring evenhanded enforcement of employment civil rights laws for all Americans.”

Lucas said her priorities include “rooting out unlawful DEI-motivated race and sex discrimination. Protecting American workers from anti-American national origin discrimination. Defending the biological and binary reality of sex and related rights, including women’s rights to single‑sex spaces at work. Protecting workers from religious bias and harassment, including antisemitism; and remedying other areas of recent under-enforcement.”