EEOC Says Agencies May Now Restrict Bathroom Access for Transgender Federal Workers
On February 26, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a federal sector decision in Selina S. v. Driscoll , ruling that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 allows federal agencies to exclude transgender workers from using bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity. The ruling extends to other federal agencies’ sex-segregated facilities, including changing areas, locker rooms, and sleeping quarters. Importantly, the decision applies only to federal agencies, not to private-sector employers, and does not bind federal courts. Quick Hits Federal agencies may now restrict transgender employees’ access to sex-segregated facilities matching their gender identity under the EEOC’s new interpretation of Title VII. The 2–1 ruling along party lines overturns decades-old precedent dating back to the EEOC’s 2015 decision in Lusardi v. Department of the Army , which supported bathroom access corresponding to gender identity. Commissioner Kalpana K...