The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has extended the time period for comments on its proposed harassment guidance. Employers, employee rights advocates and other stakeholders now have until March 21 to comment on this proposal, which addresses identifying and preventing workplace harassment.

Among other things, the proposed guidance includes a prohibition on sexual orientation based harassment, as well as a warning that the use of a name or pronoun inconsistent with an employee’s gender identity may be harassment if used in a persistent or offensive manner. The comment period allows employers to express their concerns in hopes that the EEOC responds with favorable changes to the guidance it will ultimately issue.

Please contact any member of Taft's Labor & Employment group for additional information on this guidance.