On Monday, January 27, 2025, President Trump removed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC” or the “Commission”) commissioners Charlotte A. Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels, the two confirmed in separate statements.  The move, which may face legal challenges, marks the first time that a president has removed an EEOC commissioner without cause prior to the expiration of their five-year term.  The removals leave the EEOC, a five-member Commission, with only two remaining commissioners:  Andrea R. Lucas, a Republican tapped by President Trump last week to serve as Acting Chair, and Kalpana Kotagal, a Democrat appointed by former President Biden, whose term is set to expire on July 1, 2027.  The final seat on the Commission has been vacant since July 1, 2024, when former Commissioner Keith Sonderling, who was recently nominated by President Trump to serve as deputy labor secretary, completed his five-year term.

President Trump also fired EEOC General Counsel Karla Gilbride, who confirmed her dismissal on Tuesday, January 28, 2025.  Gilbride, who was nominated by former President Biden and confirmed by the Senate in October 2023, was slated to serve a four-year term set to expire in 2027. 

Removal of EEOC Commissioners

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 created the EEOC, which functions as a bi-partisan, independent commission.  The law provides that commissioners are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate to five-year staggered terms.  In addition, Title VII establishes that no more than three of the commissioners may be members of the same political party.  Notably, Title VII does not specify any grounds for removal of EEOC commissioners.  In the past, however, after a new administration has entered the White House, commissioners have served out the remainder of their five-year term.

Burrows, who served as Chair of the Commission under the Biden Administration, was confirmed by the Senate to a third term in November 2023 that was set to expire on July 1, 2028.  Samuels, who was appointed by President Trump during his first term, was later nominated by former President Biden for a second term that was set to expire on July 1, 2026.  In separate statements, Burrows and Samuels expressed their disagreement with the President’s “unprecedented” actions and vowed to explore the “legal options” available to them.

Implications for EEOC Actions Moving Forward

In the absence of any removals by President Trump, Democrats would have maintained a majority on the Commission until the expiration of Samuels’ term in 2026.  Now, with only two members left in Lucas and Kotagal, the Commission lacks a quorum.  Under Title VII, the EEOC must have three commissioners to form a quorum.  Without a quorum, the EEOC cannot initiate formal rulemakings and cannot issue, modify, or revoke formal guidance.  As a result, without a quorum, EEOC guidance remains effectively at a standstill.

As Proskauer previously covered, on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, newly appointed Acting Chair Lucas issued a statement setting forth her enforcement priorities.  On Tuesday, January 28, 2025, Lucas issued another statement announcing that the EEOC “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” consistent with President Trump’s Executive Order 14166, “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” 

The statement, however, noted that Acting Chair Lucas “cannot unilaterally remove or modify certain ‘gender identity’ related documents subject to the President’s directives in the [aforementioned] executive order” without a majority vote of the Commission.  For the time being, Acting Chair Lucas is precluded from formally rescinding any EEOC guidance that she deems to be inconsistent with Executive Order 14166, including the EEOC’s April 2024 guidance, entitled “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace.”  Lucas, however, noted that she voted against this guidance and stated that while she “currently cannot rescind portions of the agency’s harassment guidance that are inconsistent with Executive Order 14166, [she] remains opposed to those portions of the guidance.”

In the wake of these removals, it is anticipated that President Trump will seek to appoint two commissioners, in addition to Lucas, to reach a Republican majority on the Commission.  And, if that occurs, the Republican Commissioners would then have the majority vote needed to issue new rulemakings and revoke formal guidance.  When that occurs, employers should expect Acting Chair Lucas to formally rescind “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace” as directed by the Executive Order.

President Trump’s EEOC removals came just hours after President Trump removed National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer A. Abruzzo and Democratic Board member Gwynne A. Wilcox in a similarly unprecedented move that left the NLRB without a quorum.  More on these removals on our Labor Relations Update blog here.

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Photo of Evandro Gigante Evandro Gigante

Evandro is the go-to employment litigator and counselor when clients face their most challenging, bet the reputation claims, or want to develop policies and practices that mitigate legal risk. As an award-winning partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department, member of the…

Evandro is the go-to employment litigator and counselor when clients face their most challenging, bet the reputation claims, or want to develop policies and practices that mitigate legal risk. As an award-winning partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department, member of the Employment Litigation group, and co-head of the Counseling, Training & Pay Equity group, he represents clients on a variety of labor and employment matters, including allegations of sexual harassment, race, gender, national origin, disability and religious discrimination. In addition, Evandro handles restrictive covenant matters, including non-compete, non-solicitation and trade secret disputes. Evandro also counsels employers through the most sensitive employment issues, including matters involving employer diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

With a focus on discrimination and harassment claims, Evandro has extensive experience defending clients before federal and state courts. He tries cases before juries and arbitrators and routinely represents clients before administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as well as state and local human rights commissions. Evandro often draws on his extensive litigation experience to help clients avoid the courtroom by effectuating positive change in the workplace through impactful anti-discrimination and harassment training, as well as robust employment policies.

Working in a wide range of industries, Evandro has experience representing clients in professional services, including law firms, financial services, including private equity and hedge funds, higher education, sports, media, retail, and others. Evandro also advises charter schools and other not-for-profit organizations on labor and employment matters on a pro bono basis.

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Photo of Keisha-Ann Gray Keisha-Ann Gray

Keisha-Ann G. Gray is a distinguished first-chair trial lawyer and litigator with a proven track record of securing significant victories in federal and state courts, including jury trials, for organizations facing high-stakes, reputational-risk claims. She is a member of the Firm’s seven-person Executive…

Keisha-Ann G. Gray is a distinguished first-chair trial lawyer and litigator with a proven track record of securing significant victories in federal and state courts, including jury trials, for organizations facing high-stakes, reputational-risk claims. She is a member of the Firm’s seven-person Executive Committee, an award-winning partner in Proskauer’s Labor & Employment department, co-chair of the Workplace Investigations practice group, co-chair of the Employment Trial practice group, and a leader of the department’s DEI Compliance Group.

With over 25 years of experience, Keisha-Ann is the go-to advisor when navigating issues related to discrimination, harassment, and DEI risk prevention. Her “real talk” approach provides clients with practical, actionable business-related solutions to today’s most complex workplace challenges.

Before joining Proskauer, Keisha-Ann served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York and as a federal law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. The breadth of her experience and background in federal government coupled with her tenure in private practice as a Big Law partner and employment litigator gives her the unique ability to meaningfully connect with diverse groups. This quality enables her to advocate effectively both in and out of the courtroom for her clients. As a result, Keisha-Ann is also frequently called upon to conduct high-profile investigations.

Because of her unique and varied skill set, clients routinely engage Keisha-Ann to personally handle their most sensitive matters which, due to her involvement, often result in non-public, confidential resolutions – preciously the mandate of many of her clients. However, when litigation is unavoidable, her courtroom skills are widely recognized — so much so that the effectiveness of her cross-examinations has been reported in the press — a fact that underscores her formidable skill at trial.

Keisha-Ann enjoys giving back to the community and profession by serving on the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary and the Magistrate Judge Selection Panel for the Eastern District of New York. She also sits on the Board of the Federal Bar Council and the Eastern District Association. In addition, she co-chairs the Federal Bar Council’s Employment Litigation Committee and actively mentors junior attorneys.

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Photo of Steven J. Pearlman Steven J. Pearlman

Steven J. Pearlman is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department, where he is Head of the Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets & Unfair Competition Group and Co-Head of the Whistleblowing & Retaliation Group.

Employment, Restrictive Covenant & Trade Secret, and Whistleblower…

Steven J. Pearlman is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department, where he is Head of the Restrictive Covenants, Trade Secrets & Unfair Competition Group and Co-Head of the Whistleblowing & Retaliation Group.

Employment, Restrictive Covenant & Trade Secret, and Whistleblower Practice. Steven’s national practice focuses on defending companies in federal and state courts and in arbitration fora against the full spectrum of employment-related claims, including claims of executives; restrictive covenant violations; employee raiding; theft of trade secrets; whistleblower retaliation under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act and similar state laws; and wage-and-hour violations, including class, collective and PAGA actions.

Steven has successfully handled trials in multiple jurisdictions; prevailed in seeking and defending against applications for temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions; defended one of the largest Illinois-only class actions in the history of the federal courts in Illinois (over 90k putative class members); and prevailed following his oral arguments before federal and state appellate courts. He brings his litigation experience (beginning in 1998) to bear in counseling clients to minimize risk and avoid or prepare for success in litigation.

Investigations. Reporting to boards of directors, their audit committees, CEOs and in-house counsel, Steven conducts sensitive investigations and has the unusual experience of testifying in federal court in connection with investigations. His investigations have involved complaints of sexual harassment involving C-suite officers; systemic violations of employment laws and company policies; and fraud, compliance failures and unethical conduct.

Thought Leadership and Accolades. Steven was named Lawyer of the Year for Chicago Labor & Employment Litigation in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. He is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Chambers has reported:

  • Steven is “one of the best in the country and has a lot of experience”;
  • Steven is as an “outstanding lawyer” who is “very sharp and very responsive,” a “strong advocate,” and an “expert in his field”;
  • He is thoughtful, attentive and demonstrates an acute understanding of matters top of mind for business-minded general counsel; and
  • “He is someone who can navigate the twists and turns of litigation without difficulty.”

Steven was 1 of 12 individuals selected by Compliance Week as a “Top Mind.” Earlier in his career, he was 1 of 5 U.S. lawyers selected by Law360 as a ”Rising Star Under 40” in the area of employment law and 1 of “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch” selected by Law Bulletin Publishing Company. Steven is a U.S. Library of Congress Burton Award Winner for “Distinguished Legal Writing.”

Steven was appointed to Law360’s Employment Editorial Advisory Board and selected as a Contributor to Forbes.com. He has appeared on Bloomberg News (television and radio) and Yahoo! Finance, and is often quoted in leading publications such as The Wall Street Journal. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has engaged Steven to serve as lead counsel on amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court and federal circuit courts of appeal.

In 2024, Steven received the Excellence in Pro Bono Service Award from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.

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Photo of Laura M. Fant Laura M. Fant

Laura Fant is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department.

She frequently counsels on matters involving the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act, including disability accommodation in the workplace and public accommodations. She is experienced…

Laura Fant is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department.

She frequently counsels on matters involving the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act, including disability accommodation in the workplace and public accommodations. She is experienced in conducting accessibility audits and providing ADA and accessibility training for clients in a variety of sectors that include retail, hospitality, sports and not-for-profit. She also handles general employment counseling and has experience in reviewing and updating employee handbooks and company policies under federal and state law.

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Delia Karamouzis

Delia Karamouzis is an associate in the Labor Department and is a member of the Employee Litigation & Counseling Group.

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