Conservative judges decide workplace harassment is fine as long as it’s against LGBTQ+ people

Federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a longtime opponent of LGBTQ+ rights, has issued a controversial ruling declaring that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not protect LGBTQ+ workers from broader forms of workplace discrimination—only from being fired. The decision starkly contradicts the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 landmark ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which clearly stated that workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity constitutes sex-based discrimination under Title VII.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit brought by the state of Texas against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Texas argued that the EEOC’s June 2021 guidance, which interpreted Title VII as protecting LGBTQ+ individuals from workplace discrimination, infringed upon the state’s “sovereign right” to enforce policies that treat employees strictly according to their sex assigned at birth—covering names, pronouns, attire, and facility access.

The EEOC guidance in question required employers to respect employees’ gender identities when applying dress codes, assigning pronouns, or granting access to restrooms and other gender-segregated spaces. This move was seen as a critical effort to ensure inclusive workplaces, but it quickly became a lightning rod for conservative backlash.

Texas claimed the EEOC had overreached, saying its guidance violated the state’s free speech rights and misapplied Title VII. The lawsuit centered around policies implemented by the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), which mandates all workplace standards—including pronouns and bathroom use—adhere to an employee’s birth-assigned sex. These regulations were put in place by TDA Commissioner Sid Miller, a vocal ally of the sitting president who has publicly supported the military’s ban on transgender service members and described gender identity as “leftist social experimentation.”

With help from the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank behind Project 2025—an aggressive right-wing policy agenda for the president’s second term—Texas took its case to court, where it landed before Kacsmaryk.

In his decision, Kacsmaryk sided with Texas, concluding that TDA’s workplace rules do not amount to discrimination because they “equally” apply to all employees based on their sex assigned at birth. According to Truthout, Kacsmaryk wrote that these policies didn’t violate Title VII, despite their disproportionate impact on transgender individuals.

The judge’s opinion failed to acknowledge the lived experiences of transgender people and mirrored the current administration’s broader stance. The president has signed executive orders compelling federal agencies, including the EEOC, to abandon any recognition of gender identity in legal interpretations and strictly define sex according to birth assignment.

Kacsmaryk’s ruling went further by ordering the EEOC to delete all references to sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories under Title VII from its June 2021 guidance, effectively stripping away protections established during previous administrations.

This isn’t Kacsmaryk’s first blow to LGBTQ+ rights. Back in 2022, he also ruled against healthcare protections for LGBTQ+ people under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which bars discrimination based on sex in medical settings. That case involved two physicians represented by America First Legal Foundation—a far-right organization founded by Stephen Miller, a former senior advisor to President Trump and a vocal opponent of LGBTQ+ civil liberties.

Kacsmaryk’s court has become a magnet for Republican-led and religious-right lawsuits due to his predictable record of conservative rulings. His reputation for siding with Christian legal groups stretches back years. Before his Senate confirmation in 2019, Kacsmaryk went so far as to remove his name from an article published in the Texas Review of Law and Politics, which criticized transgender healthcare. The journal is a known far-right publication, and he served as an editor while at the University of Texas. Removing his byline likely helped him avoid scrutiny over his anti-LGBTQ+ views during the confirmation process.

Kacsmaryk is also tied to First Liberty Institute, a Christian legal organization that has represented clients refusing to serve LGBTQ+ individuals on religious grounds. His rulings continue to reflect a legal philosophy that seeks to roll back civil rights for queer and trans Americans under the guise of religious freedom and states’ rights.

Sources:

• https://www.truthexaminer.org/lgbtq/title-vii-texas-kacsmaryk-ruling-2025
• https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/title-vii-lgbtq-rights-court-battle-rcna157531
• https://www.thedailybeast.com/federal-judge-rules-eeoc-must-strip-lgbtq-protections-from-title-vii-guidance