EEOC Defends Women’s Rights to Single-Sex Spaces at Work in Illinois

ST. LOUIS — The City of O’Fallon, Illinois, which provides a variety of municipal services to its nearly 35,000 residents in St. Clair County, agreed to resolve a charge of sex discrimination and retaliation with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC’s investigation of the charge found reasonable cause to believe that the city subjected an employee to harassment when it failed to provide a sex-designated locker room for use only by women, and then disciplined her in December 2025 because of her sex and her protected activity of asking for the designation.

“Title VII has long required employers to respect the privacy interests that arise from the biological reality of sex,” said EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas. “Women should not have to sacrifice their privacy, dignity, or safety in intimate workplace spaces for a paycheck. Failing to provide women with sex-designated facilities can constitute unlawful sex discrimination and expose employees to harassment. The EEOC will continue to vigorously enforce these longstanding protections and hold employers accountable when they violate the law.”

The city’s alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination, as well as unlawful retaliation.

“The EEOC is committed to protecting workers from all forms of sex discrimination,” said David S. Davis, director of the EEOC’s St. Louis District. “We will continue to defend employees’ rights to common standards of privacy in the workplace.”

Although the city denies the allegations and does not admit to the violation of any statute enforced by the EEOC, it agreed to engage with EEOC in the pre-litigation conciliation process following the agency’s investigation, and agreed to significant non-monetary relief.

Under the five-year agreement, the city will designate the locker room and shower facilities as “Women” and “Men”; distribute its policies and procedures prohibiting discrimination, harassment and retaliation based on sex to all employees at the employee’s workplace; and provide training to its employees about the employer’s legal obligations regarding harassment under Title VII and employee rights under the statute. The city will also post a notice informing employees of the resolution of the case and their rights under the laws enforced by EEOC, and report to the EEOC about its compliance with the terms of the conciliation agreement.

While the agreement resolves the matter between the City of O’Fallon and the EEOC, the employee retains the right to pursue her individual Title VII claims in court.

For information about sex discrimination and retaliation in the workplace, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sex-based-discrimination and https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation.

The EEOC’s St. Louis District Office has jurisdiction over discrimination charges and agency litigation in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and a portion of southern Illinois.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.