A proposal from the Biden administration on how transgenderism and abortion are handled in the workplace is raising alarms with conservative and faith-based groups who fear, among other things, infringements on free speech and business management practices.

By law, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is required to receive and read public comments through Wed., Nov. 1, and groups such as the Family Research Council (FRC) and the Heritage Foundation are encouraging the public to record their opposition to the EEOC proposal.

According to FRC, the proposed rule “would undermine sex-segregated spaces and stifle free speech in the workplace on topics such as abortion and gender identity ideology by expanding the definition of what constitutes ‘workplace harassment.’ Under the guidance, members of the workforce who are pro-life or who do not hold to the tenets of gender identity ideology could be found guilty of harassment for expressing or living in accordance with their views.”

Tyler O’Neil of the Heritage Foundation’s Daily Signal said the new rule could also “drive tens of thousands of small business owners out of business because they refuse to kowtow to the administration’s new speech codes.”

But if opposition mounts in the courts, O’Neil wrote, the proposal could force the Supreme Court to reconsider its 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Ga., which extended the meaning of sex discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to also mean sexual orientation.

The EEOC cites the Bostock decision in its announcement of the proposed rule.

The rule would include the following as “workplace harassment,” FRC wrote in an email alert to supporters:

• Failing to refer to an employee or a co-worker by their preferred pronouns

• Maintaining separate bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers for men and women on the basis of sex rather than “gender identity”

• Voicing opposition to abortion or contraception as policy matters

“The government should not be able to force speech by requiring preferred pronoun usage,” FRC wrote. No employer or employee should be required to use pronouns that are inconsistent with biological reality and against their conscience.

“Creating sex-segregated bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers for those of the opposite sex is a commonsense safety and privacy measure meant to protect people, especially women and children. It is not harassment. And the ability to express one’s opinions, even on hot-button topics such as abortion or contraception, is a constitutionally protected right that extends to the workplace.”

Comments sent to the EEOC will be published on the government website Regulations.gov for public viewing.

Fredrick Kippe / Alamy Stock Photo