On January 23, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted 2-1 to rescind its “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace” enacted in April 2024. This is a move that was expected and was in line with an EEOC press release issued on January 28, 2025, where EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas was quoted as saying, “[t]he Commission’s harassment guidance was fundamentally flawed,”…and “[t]he EEOC must rescind the guidance and protect the sex-based privacy and safety needs of women.” The timing for this decision is also not unexpected, as a quorum was only established in October 2025 with the confirmation of Brittany Bull Panuccio.

Spilman previously reported on the enactment of the 2024 guidance here, which represented the first comprehensive update to the EEOC’s harassment guidance in over 25 years. At the time, many viewed it as a comprehensive interpretive resource explaining how federal anti-discrimination statutes like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 apply to workplace harassment claims. Indeed, the withdrawn guidance provided detailed explanations and practical examples of conduct that could constitute unlawful harassment based on protected characteristics such as race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, and age. It was used by employers to shape internal policies, training programs, and investigative protocols. By eliminating the document in its entirety, the Commission removed a key federal reference point that many organizations relied upon for compliance clarity.

In contrast to those concerns, the EEOC majority in the 2-1 decision characterized the repeal as a correction, arguing that portions of the guidance exceeded statutory authority and ventured into substantive rulemaking. In rescinding the guidance, EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas made clear that it “will not leave a void where employers are free to harass wherever they see fit, leaving a trail of victims in their wake.” Chair Lucas also emphasized that this EEOC harassment guidance is just that – guidance – and it does not alter the harassment protections that employees enjoy under federal law.

For employers, the immediate effect is not a change in liability standards or other substantive issues, but it will increase interpretive uncertainty. Without consolidated federal guidance, organizations must rely more heavily on statutory text, case law, and state or local regulations to determine how harassment standards are evolving. In this environment, employers would be well advised to review harassment policies, reinforce training, and consult counsel to ensure continued alignment with federal and state anti-discrimination requirements. Spilman Thomas & Battle can assist your company in developing those policies and training materials so that you can focus on what’s most important to you and your employees: your actual work.