In the Law360 article, EEOC Harassment Guidance Reflects New Workplace Realities, KBK partner Sharon McGowan provides perspective on the EEOC’s updated guidance regarding workplace harassment.

On Oct. 2, the EEOC released the long-anticipated draft of its workplace harassment guidance, which addresses issues experts say are new realities for employers, including LGBTQ rights, online misconduct, and reproductive rights and access. Among other noteworthy clarifications, the agency’s stance on sex-based harassment follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County that sex-based discrimination includes bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity. As Ms. McGowan explains in the article, through this document, the EEOC puts employers on notice of their responsibility to protect their employees in these specific situations.

“The fact that it talks about misgendering as a specific sort of form of harassment — that it’s actionable — I think definitely makes clear, if nothing else, that employers can’t just put their heads in the sand when this kind of behavior is happening,” she said.

For more information about the EEOC guidance that is open for public comment until November 1 and to read the full article, click here.