Filed Date: July 29, 2025
Case Ongoing
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On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14168, titled "Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government." The order established a policy to recognize only two sexes, male and female, and directed federal agencies to enforce sex-protective laws based on this binary definition. It also mandated that agencies remove any materials promoting "gender ideology" and that forms requiring sex information must list only "male" or "female" options. That same day, President Trump appointed Andrea Lucas as the Acting Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
In response to the order, the EEOC began implementing a "Trans Exclusion Policy." This case challenges that policy.
On July 29, 2025, FreeState Justice filed this lawsuit against the EEOC and its Acting Chair Andrea Lucas in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Plaintiffs alleged violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Protection Clause, and the Administrative Procedure Act. Judge George Levi Russell III presides over the case.
Plaintiffs claimed that the EEOC’s new policy violated Title VII, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Bostock v. Clayton County, which held that discrimination “because of sex” includes gender identity and sexual orientation. As the agency responsible for enforcing Title VII, the EEOC had a duty to investigate and remedy all such claims. Plaintiffs alleged the agency abandoned that duty by halting investigations into all charges related to sexual orientation or gender identity and reclassifying gender-identity claims as “meritless” and subject to dismissal. They further contended that the agency sharply curtailed the types of claims it would accept from transgender individuals, expressly excluding claims involving harassment and retaliation. These actions, they argued, denied transgender workers the same protections afforded to others and rendered the EEOC’s enforcement unlawfully selective and incomplete.
Plaintiffs also asserted that the policy violated the Equal Protection Clause by subjecting transgender individuals to uniquely unfavorable treatment. They argued the EEOC created a diminished standard for gender identity claims without legitimate justification and acted out of bias rather than neutral administrative reasons. As evidence of this animus, they cited a January 28, 2025, press release in which Acting Chair Andrea Lucas pledged to “defend the biological and binary reality of sex... by rolling back protections based on ‘gender identity,’” along with her decisions to remove “Mx.” as a prefix option and eliminate the “X” gender marker from EEOC forms.
Finally, the plaintiffs contended that the policy violated the Administrative Procedure Act. They argued that the EEOC reversed decades of legal precedent and agency practice without any reasoned explanation and failed to follow the required notice-and-comment rulemaking process. This procedural failure, combined with a lack of evidence supporting the change, rendered the EEOC’s actions arbitrary and capricious.
Plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief, including vacatur of the Trans Exclusion Policy and an injunction prohibiting the defendants from implementing it, as well as fees and costs.
This case is ongoing.
Summary Authors
Victoria Tan (8/2/2025)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70954220/parties/freestate-justice-v-equal-employment-opportunity-commission/
Burroughs, Gaylynn (Maryland)
Chandy, Sunu P. (Maryland)
Goetz, Sarah R. (Maryland)
Khouri, Lauren (Maryland)
Dibblee, Christian (Maryland)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70954220/freestate-justice-v-equal-employment-opportunity-commission/
Last updated Nov. 19, 2025, 6:46 p.m.
State / Territory:
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government
Key Dates
Filing Date: July 29, 2025
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
FreeState Justice, a non-profit organization that advocates for the LGBTQ+ community in Maryland and works to address the unequal enforcement of anti-discrimination laws.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Non-profit NON-religious organization
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (- United States (national) -), Federal
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq.
Title VII (including PDA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e
Constitutional Clause(s):
Other Dockets:
District of Maryland 1:25-cv-02482
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: None Yet / None
Relief Granted:
Source of Relief:
Issues
Discrimination Area:
Conditions of Employment (including assignment, transfer, hours, working conditions, etc.)
Harassment / Hostile Work Environment
Discrimination Basis:
Affected Sex/Gender(s):
EEOC-centric:
LGBTQ+: