Challenging Discriminatory Federal Bathroom Ban that Targets Trangender Federal Workers

This case challenges a Trump-Vance administration policy that prohibits transgender and intersex federal employees from using restrooms consistent with their gender.

Plaintiff LeAnne Withrow is a civilian employee of the Illinois National Guard and a decorated veteran who previously served as a Staff Sergeant. For years, she performed her duties without incident and used workplace restrooms consistent with her gender. That changed after President Trump signed an executive order on January 20, 2025, redefining “sex” in a way that excludes transgender and intersex people.

Following the executive order, federal agencies—including the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the National Guard Bureau—issued directives requiring employees to use restrooms based solely on “biological sex,” as defined by the order. Ms. Withrow was subsequently told by supervisors that she could no longer use women’s restrooms at her workplace.

Ms. Withrow first sought relief through administrative channels, filing complaints with the National Guard Bureau Equal Opportunity Office and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). When those efforts failed to resolve the discrimination, since the EEOC withdrew her defense in the administrative case, she filed this class action lawsuit on behalf of herself and other similarly situated federal employees.

The lawsuit alleges that the executive order and its implementation violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination in employment. In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Title VII protects transgender workers from discrimination based on sex. The complaint also alleges violations of the Administrative Procedure Act, arguing that the policy was implemented unlawfully and without required procedures.

Democracy Forward represents Ms. Withrow alongside the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of D.C., and the ACLU of Illinois to stop this unlawful and discriminatory policy and to restore dignity and equal treatment for transgender federal workers.