Human Rights Campaign Inc.

01/28/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/28/2025 17:41

HRC Responds to Illegal Firing of EEOC Commissioners: “A calculated attack on every American worker's fundamental right to a workplace free from discrimination”

WASHINGTON -Today, President Donald Trump fired Commissioners Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC], an unprecedented and illegal move aimed at upending enforcement of nondiscrimination protections for workers all across the country. This firing is the latest indicator that the new administration is trying to greenlight discrimination in the workplace.

The EEOC is an independent organization responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religion, national origin, age, disability and more. It is also the main government entity responsible for enforcing the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which held that our federal employment nondiscrimination laws provide protections in the workplace on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.

Statement from Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign:

"Everyone deserves a fair shot and a workplace free from discrimination. But the illegal firing of EEOC Commissioners Burrows and Samuels isn't just another bureaucratic shake-up - it's a calculated attack on every American worker's fundamental right to a workplace free from discrimination. This lawless power grab exposes the administration's true agenda: greenlighting discrimination, including harassment and bias, against all Americans. With hate crimes surging and state legislatures pushing record numbers of anti-LGBTQ+ bills, the administration is now knee-capping the federal watchdog that stands between millions of workers and unchecked discrimination. The federal courts must reject this blatant abuse of power."

Tonight's move follows last week's executive order from the administration that targeted decades-old nondiscrimination protections in the workplace.

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