EEOC in settlement agrees to limit its own enforcement of gender-identity discrimination for the Christian Employers Association

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will limit its enforcement of certain gender-identity discrimination claims against the Christian Employers Alliance (CEA) and its members following a settlement agreement last month.

The settlement agreement ends a lawsuit that the CEA filed against the EEOC in January 2025.

The group of Christian employers argued that EEOC “improperly applied Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to force employers to affirm and accommodate” transgender employees with mandated guidance on pronoun use, gender affirming care, and access to sex-specific facilities, and that following the EEOC guidance could conflict with the religious beliefs of its member organizations.

The agency’s Biden-era guidance of Title VII’s ban on sex discrimination included discrimination based on gender identity and transgender status, following the landmark Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. The agency last year—under the current administration—began upending policies aligned with “the Biden administration’s gender identity agenda.”

The agency ultimately reached a partial settlement with the CEA, which a federal judge approved in August. A separate issue related to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act was not covered in the agreement.

Under the agreement, the EEOC not pursue charges against CEA or qualifying current and future members involving a defined set of conduct, including declining to use an employee’s preferred pronouns, declining to affirm or facilitate a gender transition, maintaining sex-specific dress codes, and reserving certain spaces according to biological sex such as bathrooms.

“This agreement provides meaningful protection for Christian employers who simply want to operate their businesses in a manner consistent with their faith. CEA members should not be forced to choose between following their deeply held Christian convictions and participating in the marketplace,” CEA President Margaret Luculano said in a statement.

While the agreement protects CEA and its members from EEOC enforcement activity related to gender-identity issues covered by the deal, it does not prevent employees from bringing private lawsuits.