Workers’ Rights Haven’t Changed—but Enforcing Them Just Got Harder

Statement from AAUW CEO Gloria L. Blackwell on EEOC Rescission of Workplace Harassment Guidance 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted 2–1 to rescind its 2024 Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace—a practical roadmap that helped workers understand their protections and helped employers prevent and address unlawful harassment. The move comes as harassment remains pervasive: in FY 2024, the EEOC received 88,531 new discrimination charges, including 35,774 harassment charges — about 40% of the total — and many incidents still go unreported. 

Rescinding this guidance does not change workers’ rights under federal law. But it will make those rights harder to navigate and enforce—especially given the EEOC’s rushed decision to withdraw significant guidance without meaningful public input. 

AAUW’s vision is clear: every worker deserves a workplace free from harassment and retaliation, backed by strong prevention, real accountability, and robust civil-rights enforcement. This action is part of a broader pattern of weakening civil-rights guardrails in workplaces and schools. Similar efforts make it harder for people to understand their protections and for institutions to do the right thing. 

Statement from Gloria L. Blackwell, AAUW CEO 

Let’s be clear: workers’ rights under federal law have not changed — but the EEOC is trying to make those rights harder to use. The Harassment Guidance was a roadmap for preventing harm and holding workplaces accountable. Rescinding it through a rushed process without public input sends a clear message to workers that their safety is being treated as optional, and it makes it harder for responsible employers to meet their obligations. AAUW will keep fighting for strong civil rights enforcement in our workplaces and schools, because dignity, safety, and equal opportunity are not negotiable.

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AAUW (American Association of University Women) is the nation’s leading organization for equity in higher education and women’s economic empowerment. Founded in 1881 by women who defied society’s conventions by earning college degrees, AAUW has since worked to increase women’s access, opportunity, and equity in higher education through research, advocacy, and philanthropy of over $146 million, supporting thousands of women scholars. Learn more at aauw.org.