Left: President Joe Biden at the presidential inauguration in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025; Right: A Pride flag is displayed during a Pride celebration on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 10, 2023. (Left: Saul Loeb/AFP/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Right: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
The guidance notes that, "The contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law, are not meant to bind the public in any way, and do not obviate the need for the EEOC and its staff to consider the facts of each case and applicable legal principles when exercising their enforcement discretion."
The ruling comes in a legal challenge lodged by the Heritage Foundation — a conservative D.C. think tank — and the state of Texas.
"The Biden EEOC tried to compel businesses – and the American people – to deny basic biological truth," Dr. Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action for America, said in a statement, noting that "thanks to the great state of Texas and the work of my Heritage colleagues, a federal judge said: not so fast.
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"This ruling is more than a legal victory. It’s a cultural one," he added. "It says no – you don’t have to surrender common sense at the altar of leftist ideology. You don’t have to pretend men are women. And you don’t have to lie to keep your job. Heritage is doing exactly what the conservative movement needs to do: stop apologizing, start suing, and take back institutions."
The White House called it a "major win for women and commonsense."
The judge "confirmed what the Trump Administration consistently maintains: government-imposed DEI policies requiring bathroom, dress, and pronoun accommodations are illegal," White House spokesman Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital.
On Inauguration Day earlier this year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order declaring it U.S. policy "to recognize two sexes, male and female."
That order called for rescinding guidance documents, or portions of documents, that clash with the order. The EEOC's Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace was specifically mentioned in the order.
President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. ( Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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The Texas attorney general's office and the EEOC did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital on Friday.
Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-appointed-federal-judge-rules-against-biden-era-sex-based-employment-discrimination-guidance