Maryland
Judge tosses lawsuit challenging civil rights agency’s pullback on transgender workplace protections
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit alleging that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is unlawfully refusing to enforce workplace protections for transgender workers.
Chief Maryland District Judge George L. Russell III dismissed the case on Friday, saying the court lacks jurisdiction over the complaint, and plaintiff FreeState Justice, a Maryland LGBTQ+ advocacy group, lacks standing to pursue it.
“While deeply troubling, the Court agrees with Defendants that the EEOC’s decision to alter its investigations of gender identity discrimination claims constitutes a discretionary decision over which the Court lacks authority to review,” said Russell, a nominee of President Barack Obama, in a memorandum opinion filed Friday.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under the leadership of Chair Andrea Lucas, a Republican, moved swiftly to comply with President Donald Trump’s January 2025 executive order declaring two unchangeable sexes. The federal agency charged with enforcing laws against workplace discrimination has aggressively pared back protections for transgender workers, dropping lawsuits on their behalf as well as requiring heightened scrutiny for incoming discrimination complaints related to gender identity.
On behalf of FreeState Justice, legal advocacy groups Democracy Forward and the National Women’s Law Center sued the EEOC in July 2025, alleging the agency’s “Trans Exclusion Policy” violates Supreme Court precedent, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fifth Amendment’s Equal Protection guarantee, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
Liz Theran, senior director of litigation for education and workplace justice at the National Women’s Law Center, said the organization is reviewing the decision, and “considering our options. Regardless of the outcome of this case, transgender people deserve workplaces free from discrimination, and we will continue fighting to ensure that federal civil rights protections apply to everyone they were designed to protect.”
She added that “the EEOC exists because people who faced workplace discrimination often had nowhere else to turn. This agency is charged with enforcing civil rights laws and cannot single out workers it wants to protect. No one should lose access to federal protections because of who they are.”
The EEOC declined to comment on the lawsuit, and instead referred The Associated Press to the Department of Justice. The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The EEOC in its motion to dismiss argued that “allowing FreeState’s suit would thrust this Court into the role of an overseer that micromanages the Commission’s enforcement process,” according to court documents filed Oct. 15.
“In the same way that a citizen cannot challenge the decision of the FBI or a U.S. Attorney to focus on certain kinds of crimes over others, FreeState cannot challenge the EEOC’s discretionary decisions about how to enforce federal antidiscrimination law,” the motion reads.
The court decision comes as Pride Month celebrations are underway globally, some tinged with defiance as Trump’s administration pushes policies to roll back the rights of transgender people and curtail recognition of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Utah
Paris Hilton returns to ‘troubled teen’ facility to support others who allege mistreatment
SPRINGVILLE, Utah (AP) — Paris Hilton returned Monday to the Utah boarding school where she said she was abused as a teenager, the latest stop in her yearslong campaign calling for reforms to what is commonly known as the troubled teen industry.
This time Hilton was speaking in support of two families who filed lawsuits Monday alleging that their children were mistreated at Provo Canyon School, the same facility where Hilton spent almost a year in the late 1990s. The hotel heiress and media personality alleges staff members beat her, watched her shower, fed her unknown pills and locked her in solitary confinement without clothing.
“I dreamed of becoming strong enough, successful enough and powerful enough to come back and be the hero that I needed when I was a little girl locked inside,” Hilton said. “Today is that day, and I am not backing down.”
The school is now under new ownership, and the administration has said it can’t comment on anything that came before the change, including Hilton’s time there.
Hilton, 45, called on Utah licensors to shut down the school. She has testified about her experiences there in Congress and state legislatures around the U.S., helping pass laws to protect teens in Utah and 15 other states. Utah has long played an outsized role in the troubled teen industry, a network of private, for-profit residential centers for children with behavioral issues.
State health officials imposed temporary restrictions on Provo Canyon School in May, saying the staff did not seek immediate medical care for a student with serious injuries. The restrictions, which include a prohibition on accepting new clients, are set to end Thursday.
Aleah Corona, the mother of the injured student, alleged in Monday’s lawsuit that the school did not immediately help the 13-year-old after another resident slammed his head on the ground. The boy ended up with a fractured jaw and a traumatic brain injury, she said. Another family alleged their daughter had severe stomach pain and nausea for more than a week before the school sought proper medical attention. She then experienced kidney failure, their lawsuit alleges.
The school said it could not comment on specific cases due to patient privacy laws.
“At Provo Canyon School, the safety, dignity, and well-being of those entrusted to our care are our highest priorities,” the school said in a statement.
Hilton strutted toward the campus in Springville with her middle fingers raised, telling The Associated Press she refused to be intimidated by a place where she once feared for her life every day.
She warned that parents, like her own, can fall victim to misleading marketing tactics that portray teen facilities as safe.
“These places really just prey on parents who are just looking for help for their children,” Hilton said. “I wasn’t a bad kid, I was just sneaking out at night, getting bad grades. I had ADHD, so I wasn’t doing well in school, but this was definitely not the place that I should’ve been sent. My parents had no idea.”
Judge tosses lawsuit challenging civil rights agency’s pullback on transgender workplace protections
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit alleging that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is unlawfully refusing to enforce workplace protections for transgender workers.
Chief Maryland District Judge George L. Russell III dismissed the case on Friday, saying the court lacks jurisdiction over the complaint, and plaintiff FreeState Justice, a Maryland LGBTQ+ advocacy group, lacks standing to pursue it.
“While deeply troubling, the Court agrees with Defendants that the EEOC’s decision to alter its investigations of gender identity discrimination claims constitutes a discretionary decision over which the Court lacks authority to review,” said Russell, a nominee of President Barack Obama, in a memorandum opinion filed Friday.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under the leadership of Chair Andrea Lucas, a Republican, moved swiftly to comply with President Donald Trump’s January 2025 executive order declaring two unchangeable sexes. The federal agency charged with enforcing laws against workplace discrimination has aggressively pared back protections for transgender workers, dropping lawsuits on their behalf as well as requiring heightened scrutiny for incoming discrimination complaints related to gender identity.
On behalf of FreeState Justice, legal advocacy groups Democracy Forward and the National Women’s Law Center sued the EEOC in July 2025, alleging the agency’s “Trans Exclusion Policy” violates Supreme Court precedent, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fifth Amendment’s Equal Protection guarantee, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
Liz Theran, senior director of litigation for education and workplace justice at the National Women’s Law Center, said the organization is reviewing the decision, and “considering our options. Regardless of the outcome of this case, transgender people deserve workplaces free from discrimination, and we will continue fighting to ensure that federal civil rights protections apply to everyone they were designed to protect.”
She added that “the EEOC exists because people who faced workplace discrimination often had nowhere else to turn. This agency is charged with enforcing civil rights laws and cannot single out workers it wants to protect. No one should lose access to federal protections because of who they are.”
The EEOC declined to comment on the lawsuit, and instead referred The Associated Press to the Department of Justice. The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The EEOC in its motion to dismiss argued that “allowing FreeState’s suit would thrust this Court into the role of an overseer that micromanages the Commission’s enforcement process,” according to court documents filed Oct. 15.
“In the same way that a citizen cannot challenge the decision of the FBI or a U.S. Attorney to focus on certain kinds of crimes over others, FreeState cannot challenge the EEOC’s discretionary decisions about how to enforce federal antidiscrimination law,” the motion reads.
The court decision comes as Pride Month celebrations are underway globally, some tinged with defiance as Trump’s administration pushes policies to roll back the rights of transgender people and curtail recognition of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Utah
Paris Hilton returns to ‘troubled teen’ facility to support others who allege mistreatment
SPRINGVILLE, Utah (AP) — Paris Hilton returned Monday to the Utah boarding school where she said she was abused as a teenager, the latest stop in her yearslong campaign calling for reforms to what is commonly known as the troubled teen industry.
This time Hilton was speaking in support of two families who filed lawsuits Monday alleging that their children were mistreated at Provo Canyon School, the same facility where Hilton spent almost a year in the late 1990s. The hotel heiress and media personality alleges staff members beat her, watched her shower, fed her unknown pills and locked her in solitary confinement without clothing.
“I dreamed of becoming strong enough, successful enough and powerful enough to come back and be the hero that I needed when I was a little girl locked inside,” Hilton said. “Today is that day, and I am not backing down.”
The school is now under new ownership, and the administration has said it can’t comment on anything that came before the change, including Hilton’s time there.
Hilton, 45, called on Utah licensors to shut down the school. She has testified about her experiences there in Congress and state legislatures around the U.S., helping pass laws to protect teens in Utah and 15 other states. Utah has long played an outsized role in the troubled teen industry, a network of private, for-profit residential centers for children with behavioral issues.
State health officials imposed temporary restrictions on Provo Canyon School in May, saying the staff did not seek immediate medical care for a student with serious injuries. The restrictions, which include a prohibition on accepting new clients, are set to end Thursday.
Aleah Corona, the mother of the injured student, alleged in Monday’s lawsuit that the school did not immediately help the 13-year-old after another resident slammed his head on the ground. The boy ended up with a fractured jaw and a traumatic brain injury, she said. Another family alleged their daughter had severe stomach pain and nausea for more than a week before the school sought proper medical attention. She then experienced kidney failure, their lawsuit alleges.
The school said it could not comment on specific cases due to patient privacy laws.
“At Provo Canyon School, the safety, dignity, and well-being of those entrusted to our care are our highest priorities,” the school said in a statement.
Hilton strutted toward the campus in Springville with her middle fingers raised, telling The Associated Press she refused to be intimidated by a place where she once feared for her life every day.
She warned that parents, like her own, can fall victim to misleading marketing tactics that portray teen facilities as safe.
“These places really just prey on parents who are just looking for help for their children,” Hilton said. “I wasn’t a bad kid, I was just sneaking out at night, getting bad grades. I had ADHD, so I wasn’t doing well in school, but this was definitely not the place that I should’ve been sent. My parents had no idea.”
