Biden Weaponizes Equal Employment Opportunity Commission To Harass Pro-Lifers and Conscientious Employees

Once again, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is being weaponized to further the Biden Administration’s radical pro-abortion agenda. The ACLJ previously submitted an official public comment opposing the EEOC’s proposal to include coverage for abortion in the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

Now, the EEOC has proposed new guidance on harassment in the workplace to similarly advance the Biden Administration’s pro-abortion agenda. This proposed guidance interprets sex-based discrimination, under current law, to include harassment involving abortion and reproductive-related decisions. This reinterpretation of anti-discrimination law flies in the face of the congressional intent to protect women from harassment in the workplace, instead serving as an end-run around Congress to expand abortion protections within the U.S.

We just submitted an official public comment from the ACLJ in opposition to the proposed guidance. In the comment, we urged the EEOC to strike all references to, and inclusions of, abortion. These references are impermissible according to legislative history, judicial precedent, and congressional intent.

Specifically, we addressed the fact that the Biden Administration wrongfully relies upon overturned case law, like Roe v. Wade, while ignoring current Supreme Court precedent, like Bostock v. Clayton County and Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, in order to justify their interpretation.

We also explained that the proposed guidance directly conflicts with congressional intent because legislative history clearly demonstrates that Congress did not intend for protections from sex discrimination to include protections for abortions. Congress has never passed a law explicitly promoting abortion or reached a consensus over this area of law. Thus, instead of allowing legislation to move through the proper congressional channels, the EEOC is subverting the constitutional process of lawmaking in order to expand protections for abortion.

Although not technically legally binding, the proposed guidance arguably has the force and effect of a rule that will be enforced by the EEOC. This means all employers with 15 or more employees will be subject to the EEOC’s guidance. This is especially concerning because the EEOC’s proposed guidance fails to acknowledge any First Amendment protections for employers and employees. So, under this guidance, an individual in the workplace can be subject to disciplinary action or legal liability if allegations arise that they harassed an employee in the workplace who is seeking or has received an abortion, even if that individual was only expressing sincerely held religious convictions about abortion. As we stated in our comment, this lack of religious protections runs afoul of the constitutional guarantee to the free exercise of religion and freedom of speech.

For example, if a pro-life employee shares their position on the dignity and sanctity of human life, as well as the immorality of abortion, it is feasible that such a statement could be construed as harassment by an employee who has had an abortion. Such a rule would chill free speech in the workplace, as well as make it punishable for employees to express their conscientious opinions on pro-life matters. Yet this is a feature, not a bug, in the Biden Administration’s pro-abortion efforts. Silencing the free speech of others who do not support the “right” policy positions has been a hallmark of the Biden Administration’s overall agenda.

The Biden Administration’s illegal attempt to pervert and preempt congressional intent for anti-discrimination law is shameful. This proposed guidance not only threatens the constitutional freedoms guaranteed to all Americans but also the very lives of our nation’s most vulnerable class – the preborn. Unfortunately, this is the Biden Administration’s most recent attempt to facilitate abortion access since the overturning of Roe. President Biden has been aggressive in delivering on his promise to do “all in my power to protect a woman’s right in states where they will face the consequences” of overturning Roe.

The ACLJ remains committed to fighting back against the radicalization of Executive agencies and their anti-life agendas, but we need you to join the fight with us. Rest assured that we remain committed to combating abortion extremism as we push back against abortion travel policies, abortions for veterans, the weaponization of the federal bureaucracy against pro-lifers, and the overriding of state laws to push abortion pill access. Together, we must make clear to the Biden Administration that Americans will not back down when it comes to defending our children.