Ken Paxton has lodged another lawsuit against the Biden administration, this time over guidance about workplace protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Paxton’s lawsuit is challenging the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for employment protections they issued last June. The new guidance from EEOC against workplace discrimination or harassment for LGBTQ workers arrived after the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling last year which codified that the federal ban on discrimination based on sex includes transgender employees.
Paxton’s comments on Twitter about the lawsuit specifically refer to employee protections for the transgender community. “States should be able to choose protection of privacy for their employers over subjective views of gender, and this illegal guidance puts many women and children at risk.”
Paxton’s lawsuit is the latest attack on the transgender community in Texas. On Thursday, the state senate of Texas passed legislation that would ban transgender students from participating in a sports league consistent with their identity.
The legislative session and subsequent special sessions in Texas have been extremely hostile to the LGBTQ community. According to Equality Texas, more than 75 anti-LGBTQ bills have been filed in Texas since January.
On Twitter, Paxton said another lawsuit against the Biden administration would be coming from his office. That lawsuit would challenge the vaccine mandate that Biden announced which calls for workplaces with over 100 employees to require COVID-19 vaccination or weekly testing. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has yet to produce that guidance regarding a vaccine mandate.
Photo: Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis via Getty Images
A longtime writer and journalist, Jessica was thrilled to join the Texas Signal where she could utilize her unique perspective on politics and culture. As the Features and Opinion Editor, she is responsible for coordinating editorials and segments from diverse authors. She is also the host of the podcast the Tex Mix, as well as the co-host for the weekly SignalCast. Jessica attended Harvard College, is a onetime fitness blogger, and has now transitioned to recreational runner (for which her joints are thankful).
