Federal judge hands Texas a win in lawsuit over protections for gay, transgender workers
Lauren McGaughy, The Dallas Morning News - 6h agoDALLAS — A federal judge in Texas has ruled that employment protections for gay and transgender workers do not extend to policies regarding dress codes, preferred pronouns or bathroom usage.
In a Saturday decision, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk said the Biden administration went too far when it said discrimination protections for gay and transgender workers extended to aspects of employment beyond hiring and firing decisions. Only the “status” of being gay or trans is protected, the judge determined, “but not necessarily all related conduct” such as “sex-specific dress, bathroom, pronoun, and healthcare policies.”
Kacsmaryk’s decision is a win for Texas, which sued in September to block the guidance. The Office of Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican seeking reelection this year, is representing the state.
Lawyers for the federal agencies being sued — the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — did not return requests for comment about whether they would appeal the decision.
Paxton did not respond to requests for comment, but issued a press release Thursday hailing the decision as a win over “woke gender policy.”
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