The Trump administration showed that it is keeping an eagle eye on protecting religious liberties for all Americans, with a new announcement settlement about pronoun use in the workplace.
The EEOC (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) said in a new press release Wednesday that an employee was forced to resign after refusing to use pronouns not matching a coworker's obvious biology. The company's failure to accommodate an employee's deeply held religious convictions is illegal, it stated, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
This new agreement with the EEOC involved a Wisconsin generator manufacturer, Generac Power Systems.
The documentation said an employee, who is Christian, requested to use biological pronouns for another employee, but was denied accommodation.
According to the EEOC’s reasonable cause finding, Generac violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it did not fully engage in the reasonable accommodation interactive process before denying a religious employee’s request to use biological sex-based pronouns when referring to a trans-identified employee, even after the religious employee informed Generac that using non-biological pronouns went against his sincerely held religious beliefs. Generac’s religious accommodation process failures also resulted in the religious employee’s resignation.
The agency's announcement on Wednesday stated Generac settled for both monetary and injunctive relief on a religious accommodation charge. The dollar amount and details of the settlement were not disclosed at the time of this writing.
EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas spoke in the wake of the settlement.
“Title VII requires employers to engage with religious accommodation requests, and that obligation does not disappear when the request involves a religious employee’s sincerely held belief in the binary nature of sex," she said.
“Consistent with Executive Order 14168, the EEOC will continue to prioritize for enforcement charges that involve protecting religious beliefs where an employee seeks to express the biological reality of sex in the workplace. We commend Generac for resolving the matter promptly and strengthening its religious accommodation process," she added.
The settlement also states the company must update its religious accommodation policies and provide training with the goal of promoting greater understanding and effective handling of religious accommodation requests going forward. Generac affirmed in the document that its "ongoing commitment to religious liberty and to fostering a workplace where employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs are respected and accommodated appropriately in accordance with applicable federal anti-discrimination laws."
In a statement, a Generac spokesperson said:
“As a leading American manufacturer and employer, Generac remains committed to treating employees fairly and respectfully and in accordance with all applicable federal and state employment laws. We appreciate the EEOC’s engagement throughout this process and the opportunity to resolve this matter and remain focused on our employees and business.”
The provision in the Civil Rights Act, as interpreted by President Trump's 2025 executive order, is clear about businesses' responsibilities:
Title VII requires covered employers to reasonably accommodate an employee’s or applicant’s sincerely held religious beliefs, practices, or observances unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer’s business. Among other things, religious accommodations may include schedule changes; voluntary shift swaps; dress or grooming accommodations; prayer breaks; or other adjustments that allow individuals to observe their faith while continuing to perform their job duties. Employers must evaluate accommodation requests in good faith and may not discriminate or retaliate against individuals for requesting or receiving a religious accommodation.
The 47th president's order 14173, signed on Jan. 21, 2025, replaced/revoked order 11246, "a long-standing executive order establishing antidiscrimination requirements for federal contractors and subcontractors and in the administration of federally assisted construction contracts."
The EEOC urges any American seeking to learn more about combating religious discrimination to visit its dedicated page here.
In this recent interview, EEOC Chair Lucas had a strong warning for any organization or company that thinks it can get away with discriminating against hard working Americans:
"American is a national origin, too."@andrealucasEEOC shared a clear message during her recent @NEWSMAX appearance: The EEOC is not going to let corporations hurt American Workers.
— U.S. EEOC (@USEEOC) September 24, 2026
If you believe you’ve been discriminated against because you’re American—contact @USEEOC today. pic.twitter.com/3fcWlNNRub
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