©2026 Seyfarth Shaw LLP EEOC-INITIATED LITIGATION: 2026 EDITION | 34 from a staffing agency, including requesting Spanish-speaking employees to fill roles that did not require such language skills, and segregated employees by race and generally provided Hispanic workers better pay, working conditions, and financial opportunities than Black workers.80 Although, the EEOC reached a ten-year low in filings for merit lawsuits October 2024 to September 2025 fiscal year, the EEOC is pursuing majority group or reverse discrimination claims. In February 2025, the EEOC filed a lawsuit against Leo Palace Resort, a hotel in Guam, alleging that the resort engaged in discriminatory practices by providing employees of non-Japanese origin with less favorable wages, benefits, and other terms of employment compared to their Japanese counterparts.81 The EEOC announced that it had settled the complaint.82 In September 2025, the EEOC sued Seward and Son Planting Company, an agricultural employer, alleging that the employer discriminated by engaging in job segregation by favoring non-Black, non-American H-2A visa holders over Black, American farmworkers.83 The case settled shortly after the EEOC filed the action.84 5. Focus Area: Shifts in Enforcement for Underrepresented Groups While the SEP remains in place for now, the focus on protections for the expanded definition of “vulnerable groups” has shifted.85 The EEOC announced that it is returning to its “mission of protecting women from sexual harassment and sex-based discrimination in the workplace by rolling back the Biden administration’s gender identity agenda.” Although, the EEOC may be shifting its priorities on enforcement, the Supreme Court decision extending prohibitions on sex discrimination and harassment to lesbian, gay, and trans individuals remains.86 The current SEP highlight the underrepresentation of women and workers of color in certain industries such as construction, manufacturing, finance, and high-tech/STEM. In line with the SEP, on September 11, 2024, the EEOC issued a report entitled High Tech, Low Inclusion: Diversity in the High Tech Workforce and Sector 2014-2022, which analyzes “demographic disparities for workers in 56 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations and the industries employing them.” 87 Although the EEOC’s press release announcing the report remains publicly available, the report itself has since been removed from the EEOC’s website. In this press release, the EEOC stated, “Given its findings, the report recommends that high tech companies proactively examine barriers limiting employment for women, older workers, Black workers, and Hispanic workers.” However, to be more in line with the Trump Administration’s priorities, the EEOC has clarified that affirmative Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts may be unlawful.88 The EEOC provides examples such as, limiting membership in workplace groups to certain protected groups. Employers should allow employees of all backgrounds to have equal access to these workplace groups. The EEOC also clarified that minority group or reverse discrimination is not allowed even if the employer can demonstrate a “business necessity.” 89 However, employers may still raise a bona fid occupational qualification as an affirmative defense to excuse hiring or classifying an individual based 80 See U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Aaron Thomas Company to Pay $450,000 to Settle EEOC Race Discrimination Lawsuit (Sept. 27, 2024), https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/aaron-thomas-company-pay-450000-settle-eeoc-race-discrimination-lawsuit. 81 See EEOC v. Leopalace Guam Corp., No. 1:25-cv-4 (D. Guam) 82 See U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, LeoPalace Resort to Pay Over $1.4 Million in EEOC National Origin Discrimination Lawsuit, https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/leopalace-resort-pay-over-14-million-eeoc-national-origin-discrimination-lawsuit. 83 See EEOC v. Seward and Son Planting Co., No. 4:25-cv-155 (N.D. Miss Sept. 29, 2025) 84 See Vin Gurrieri, EEOC, Miss. Farm Strike Deal To End Bias Suit, LAW 360, https://www.law360.com/employment-authority/articles/2394362. 85 The expanded definition includes: immigrant and migrant workers and workers on temporary visas; people with developmental or intellectual disabilities; workers with mental health related disabilities; individuals with arrest or conviction records; LGBTQI+ individuals; temporary workers; older workers; individuals employed in low wage jobs, including teenage workers employed in such jobs; survivors of gender-based violence; Native Americans/Alaska Natives; and persons with limited literacy or English proficiency. 86 Bostock v. Clayton Cnty.¸ 590 U.S. 644 (2020). 87 Christopher Kelleher, Andrew Scroggins and Christopher DeGroff, EEOC Puts High Tech Employers on High Alert Regarding Discrimination (Sept. 11, 2024), https://www.workplaceclassaction.com/2024/09/eeoc-puts-high-tech-employers-on-high-alert-regarding-discrimination/. 88 U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, What You Should Know About DEI-Related Discrimination at Work, https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/ what-you-should-know-about-dei-related-discrimination-work#_ednref30. 89 See id.
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