The EEOC has issued a decision holding that Title VII permits federal agencies to maintain sex-designated bathrooms and similar intimate spaces and to exclude employees — including transgender employees — from facilities designated for the opposite sex. The ruling overturns the agency’s 2015 Lusardi decision on this point. The decision applies only to federal agencies and has no immediate effect on private employers.

Ultimately, courts will determine the governing standard. In the interim, employers may face overlapping and sometimes inconsistent federal, state, and local approaches to facility access, following Bostock and evolving federal court decisions.

We recommend that employers:

  • Review their restroom and facility access policies to identify where differing federal, state, or local standards could create operational or legal risk.
  • Evaluate whether managers and HR staff need updated guidance or training to address questions arising from the EEOC’s revised federal-sector interpretation.
  • Register for CWC’s Workplace Policy Conference to discuss practical implications and preparation for future developments.

Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.