The Employment Law Pendulum

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently announced the appointment of Commissioner Andrea R. Lucas as Acting Chair of the agency. Lucas has served as an EEOC Commissioner since 2020, having been nominated by President Trump during his first term. Prior to joining the EEOC, Lucas practiced labor and employment law at an international law firm and previously clerked for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

As Acting Chair, Lucas recently outlined her priorities, stating:

I look forward to restoring evenhanded enforcement of employment civil rights laws for all Americans. In recent years, this agency has remained silent in the face of multiple forms of widespread, overt discrimination. Consistent with the President’s Executive Orders and priorities, my priorities will 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.

This statement reflects a significant shift away from the policies promoted by outgoing Acting Chair, Charlotte A. Burrows.

While agency policy shifts can be a source of controversy and conversation, employers should keep abreast of significant changes in considering legal compliance and risk. If you have questions about what this could mean for your business, contact us at 248.477.6300.