Former EEOC Director Files Complaint Alleging Pattern Of Discrimination Against Transgender And Nonbinary Employees

Marc Seawright, former Director of Information Governance and Strategy at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), submitted a formal complaint with the EEOC alleging discrimination and harassment based on sex (specifically, gender identity and sexual orientation), as well as a hostile work environment. Seawright, who identifies as a queer transgender man, resigned from his position on June 18, 2025.

Seawright asserts that the EEOC discriminated against transgender and nonbinary employees and fostered a hostile work environment. He claims that since January 22, 2025—when Andrea Lucas became Acting Chair of the EEOC—there has been "a sustained pattern of actions and statements that unlawfully target employees based on sex, including gender identity and sexual orientation, in violation of Title VII." Seawright further alleges that he has "personally been increasingly marginalized in the workplace because of [his] queer and transgender identity such that the terms and conditions of [his] employment have changed for the worse."

Seawright alleges that implementation of Executive Order 14168 (Jan. 20, 2025) by Acting Chair Lucas undermined workplace protections for transgender and nonbinary workers, threatened the agency's mission, and created a hostile work environment. Seawright further asserts he was forced to participate in the systematic erasure of transgender and nonbinary identities from all outreach and training materials, public-facing documents, websites, surveys, and educational resources. This involved removing references to gender identity, gender transition, sexual orientation, pronouns, and inclusive etiquette, as well as restricting discussions on workplace harassment protections to only binary men and women. Seawright was also directed to develop technology facilitating the removal of transgender people and non-binary options (such as 'Mx.') from internal and external documents. He describes these experiences as extremely distressing and an attack on protections afforded under Title VII for transgender and nonbinary workers.

Seawright further claims that the EEOC's refusal to process gender identity discrimination complaints and its withdrawal from active litigation intended to enforce rights for transgender and nonbinary employees has had a chilling effect on LGBTQ+ employees who might otherwise have filed internal complaints. This conduct also contributed further to what Seawright describes as an ongoing hostile work environment affecting him and other LGBTQ+ employees.

As part of his requested relief, Seawright asks that the EEOC cease discriminatory practices, restore employee training programs and workplace policies along with public education/outreach efforts, reinstate protections for LGBTQIA+ complainants and investigations, and pay compensatory damages and attorneys' fees and costs. As the federal agency tasked with enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws, it will be closely watched how the EEOC will respond to the discrimination and harassment charge under its new Acting Chair.

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