©2026 Seyfarth Shaw LLP EEOC-INITIATED LITIGATION: 2026 EDITION | 8 Addressing Selected Emerging and Developing Issues. The third strategic priority addresses selected emerging and developing issues. As the name implies, the EEOC may adapt its focus within this priority on a year-to-year basis in accordance with developing case law and societal movements. Thus, this strategic priority is something of a “wild card.” As a government agency, the EEOC is responsible for monitoring trends and developments in the law, workplace practices, and labor force demographics. Not surprisingly, the emerging issues identified by the agency have evolved over time. For example, the 2017 SEP identified five emerging and developing issues as strategic priorities: (1) qualification standards and inflexible leave policies that discriminate against individuals with disabilities; (2) accommodating pregnancy-related limitations under the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act and Pregnancy Discrimination Act; (3) protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQI+) individuals from discrimination based on sex; (4) clarifying the employment relationship and the application of workplace civil rights protections in light of the increasing complexity of employment relationships and structures; and (5) addressing discriminatory practices against those who are Muslim or Sikh, or persons of Arab, Middle Eastern or South Asian descent, as well as persons perceived to be members of these groups, arising from backlash against them from tragic events in the United States and abroad. The FY 2024-2028 SEP moved away from some of the earlier categories and introduces some new emerging issues. For example, few issues had attracted as much of the EEOC’s attention in recent years as its campaign to have LGBTQI+ discrimination recognized as a prohibited form of discrimination under Title VII. That issue was answered by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020 in the landmark decision of Bostock v. Clayton County Georgia, which held that Title VII prohibits discrimination against gay or transgender employees as a form of sex discrimination. Following that decision, the EEOC moved the issue off its list of emerging and developing issues, apparently believing it to have been fully embraced in the EEO universe. However, while that might have been the case then, the EEOC under now-Chair Lucas has reversed course on these matters, including removing its interpretations applying Bostock to LGBTQ workers from its website. The SEP’s focus on protecting pregnant workers remains as an emerging issue. In FY 2025, the EEOC filed numerous lawsuits asserting pregnancy-related violations. This emphasis on pregnancy-related issues aligns with public statements by Chair Lucas, who has placed an emphasis on enforcing protections in this area. It is important to note, however, that the Commission under Chair Lucas’s leadership has narrowed the scope of pregnancy-related claims it is pursuing, focusing on claims regarding pregnancy and childbirth rather than broader aspects of the female reproductive system. The EEOC’s actions in advancing this goal are addressed in more detail in Section B. Likewise, the SEP maintains its focus on “backlash” discrimination, premised on the idea that discrimination against some groups can arise as a backlash in response to local, national, or global events. The EEOC identifies in the SEP some groups in particular, including Jews; Muslims; racial or ethnic groups; and LGBTQI+ individuals, but also notes that the groups at issue, and the practices they are subjected to, can be0enforcement under this element of the SEP has largely been focused on combatting antisemitism. This is discussed in Section D. The final topic under this priority is “technology-related employment discrimination,” with the EEOC’s stated interest to be in employment decisions based on algorithmic decision-making, as well as automated recruitment, selection, production, and performance management tools. The EEOC has instead deprioritized this issue over the past year, even removing earlier guidance documents on the topic from its website.
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