Published by Fractional Coordinator, Inc. | February 2026

WASHINGTON — In a 2 to 1 vote, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has rescinded its 2024 Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace, withdrawing a document that sought to clarify how the agency interprets and enforces federal workplace harassment laws.

The action does not alter the statutes themselves. It does, however, remove the most recent interpretive framework the agency had offered to employers navigating harassment, discrimination, and retaliation obligations under federal law.

“Rescinding this guidance does not give employers license to engage in unlawful harassment,” said EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas in a public statement. “Federal employment laws against discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, and Supreme Court precedent interpreting those laws, remain firmly in place. The EEOC is committed to evenhanded enforcement of these laws.”

For employers, the message is steady but consequential. The law remains. The agency’s explanatory lens has changed.

What Changed and What Did Not

Enforcement guidance does not create new law. It explains how an agency understands existing statutes and how it intends to pursue enforcement actions. Courts are not bound by guidance documents, but employers frequently rely on them when shaping internal policies, training supervisors, and assessing compliance risk.

By rescinding the 2024 guidance, the Commission removes a consolidated framework that addressed evolving workplace issues, including digital conduct and overlapping protected categories, under existing anti discrimination statutes.

The legal standards themselves remain intact. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and related federal laws continue to prohibit workplace harassment that is severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment and create a hostile work environment. Retaliation for reporting discrimination also remains unlawful.

What disappears is not the law, but the agency’s most recent articulation of how it would interpret and apply it.

A Return to Statutory Ground

In practical terms, the rescission directs attention back to statutory text and Supreme Court precedent. Employers will now look more directly to judicial decisions to assess liability exposure and workplace obligations.

The absence of guidance does not reduce legal risk. It removes an interpretive reference point.

For institutions operating in regulated or public facing environments, exposure continues to hinge on conduct, context, severity, pervasiveness, and the adequacy of the employer’s response. Internal documentation, investigative rigor, and leadership accountability remain decisive.

Administrative philosophy may shift. Legal accountability does not.

The Institutional Signal

Agency actions often reflect broader regulatory priorities. Rescinding guidance can signal a recalibration in tone or emphasis. Yet the underlying civil rights framework is durable. Congress writes the statutes. Courts interpret them. Agencies enforce within that structure.

Employers that anchor compliance efforts in statute and precedent rather than guidance cycles are typically better positioned when regulatory priorities evolve.

In that sense, the Commission’s vote narrows commentary without narrowing responsibility.

What Employers Should Take From This

The rescission should not be mistaken for deregulation. It is a reminder that civil rights compliance rests on enduring legal standards rather than temporary interpretive documents.

Clear anti harassment policies. Prompt and impartial investigations. Protection against retaliation. Leadership accountability.

Those remain the foundations of lawful workplace governance.

About Fractional Coordinator™

Fractional Coordinator™ is an advisory firm supporting institutions, public entities, and mission driven organizations in navigating Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, ADA, and related civil rights frameworks. The firm focuses on building durable compliance infrastructure grounded in statutory clarity, investigative rigor, and executive level accountability, helping organizations align policy, people, and operational decision making with evolving federal and state requirements.

For more information, contact: info@fractionalcoordinator.com