The motion to dismiss the Alabama case, filed jointly with the defendants, comes just weeks after Trump dismissed two Democratic commissioners of the five-member EEOC before their terms expired, an unprecedented decision that removed what would have been a major obstacle to his administration efforts to upend interpretation of the nation's civil rights laws.
The federal agency that enforces workplace anti-discrimination laws has moved to dismiss its own lawsuit on behalf of a worker allegedly fired for his sexual orientation and gender identity, arguing that the case now conflicts with President Donald Trump's recent executive order, according to court documents.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Thursday filed a joint motion to dismiss its case against Harmony Hospitality LLC, which operates a Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel in Dothan, Alabama, just eight months after the agency sued the company over its firing of an employee who identifies as nonbinary male and gay.
But in its motion to dismiss, the EEOC cites compliance guidance from the Office of Personnel Management on Trump's executive order titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government" as the reason behind its decision.
The EEOC’s request to now dismiss the case marks a major departure from its prior interpretation of civil rights law after the Trump administration declared that the government would recognize only two sexes: male and female.
