Kansas Passes Legislation to Restrict Transgender Bathroom Access in Government Buildings

Quick Hits

• The Kansas Legislature passed legislation restricting transgender individuals’ access to bathrooms and other multi-occupancy private spaces (such as locker rooms) in public buildings to their biological sex at birth, imposing potential civil and criminal penalties for violations.
• The legislation mandates drivers’ licenses and birth certificates reflect biological sex designated at birth.
• The legislation allows individuals to sue for damages if their privacy is violated by someone of the opposite sex entering designated single-sex spaces in government buildings.
• The move aligns Kansas with multiple other states where similar restrictions are being considered or have been enacted, along with proposed federal legislation.

On January 28, 2025, the Kansas Legislature passed House Substitute for Senate Bill (SB) 244, after being fast-tracked and appearing to bypass public hearings and opportunities for public input. There appears to be enough votes in the Republican-led legislature to override Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s expected veto of the measure.

SB 244 would restrict access to designated single-sex private spaces, including bathrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms, in government-owned or -leased public buildings based on biological sex as determined at birth, and would impose potential civil and criminal penalties on violators.

The bill further would provide a private right of action for individuals to seek damages against individuals of the opposite sex who violate their privacy by entering single-sex spaces. In addition, SB 244 requires state driver’s licenses and birth certificates to reflect the biological sex of individuals’ sex designated at birth.

Kansas SB 244

SB 244 directs government agencies to designate “multiple-occupancy private space[s]” in government buildings as spaces “for use only by individuals of one sex” as defined under state law as an “individual’s biological sex, either male or female, at birth.” Government-owned buildings would be allowed to designate unisex restrooms designed for single occupancy. The bill also contains exceptions for certain purposes, such as cleaning and maintenance or carrying out law enforcement, and for children under age nine when accompanied by an individual caring for the child.

Repeat violators who enter such designated spaces not consistent with their biological sex could face civil and criminal penalties for repeat violations. Further, government agencies that fail to enforce the restrictions could also face investigations and penalties imposed by the state attorney general.

Notably, the bill would create a private right of action for individuals who are “aggrieved by the invasion of such individual’s personal privacy or otherwise harmed by a violation … by an individual of the opposite sex.” The bill provides for actual damages or liquidated damages of $1,000, as well as declaratory and injunctive relief.

Additionally, SB 244 would invalidate driver’s licenses and birth certificates issued before July 1, 2026, that identify the holders’ gender in a manner “contrary” to a binary, male-or-female definition of sex and reissue them to “correct” the gender identification.

Federal Policy Shift and EO 14168

With SB 244, Kansas will join other states with some form of transgender bathroom restrictions (such as Texas and Florida, among others) that largely apply to government buildings. Meanwhile, on the federal level, despite the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia recognizing discrimination based on gender identity (specifically against transgender individuals in hiring or firing decisions) constitutes unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Trump administration has shifted federal policy, taking the position that gender is binary and immutable.

Specifically, Executive Order (EO) 14168, issued by President Donald Trump on January 20, 2025, mandated that “intimate spaces” (e.g., bathrooms, locker rooms, and lactation rooms) in federal workplaces be designated by biological sex and not gender identity. EO 14168 further directed agencies to enforce federal policy, after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) rescinded guidance that had recognized harassment against individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity, including denial of access to bathrooms consistent with an individual’s gender identity, as a form of harassment based on sex.

However, parts of EO 14618 have been blocked by at least five federal district courts, and questions remain over whether denial of access to bathrooms consistent with an individual’s gender identity may constitute unlawful sex discrimination or contribute to an unlawful hostile work environment.

Further, on November 20, 2025, federal employees filed a class action complaint against the federal government and federal agencies challenging EO 14168’s prohibition on transgender and intersex federal employees using restrooms aligned with their gender identity. The first claim for relief in that suit alleges that the denial of restroom access consistent with gender identity constitutes discrimination “based on sex” in violation of Title VII, which requires that all personnel actions affecting federal employees be free from sex discrimination.

The complaint also challenges EO 14168’s prohibition violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and that the government agencies’ actions are arbitrary, capricious, contrary to law, and in violation of statutes such as the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, as well as constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process, because they single out transgender and intersex employees for adverse treatment. Litigation remains ongoing, with the government’s deadline to file a motion to dismiss set for February 26, 2026.

Possibility of Nationwide Legislation

Federal lawmakers have also proposed bills restricting bathroom access. In July 2025, Representative Greg Steube (R-FL), and Senator Jim Banks (R-IN), introduced the “Restoring Biological Truth to the Workplace Act,” H.R.4554/S.2037, which seeks to reinforce EO 14168. The bill would make it unlawful to discriminate against an employee based on “covered expression, that describes, asserts, or reinforces the binary or biological nature of sex,” and require that employees have access to single-sex private spaces and bathrooms based on their biological sex.

That bill comes after Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC), reintroduced the “Protecting Women’s Private Spaces Act,” H.R.1016, in February 2026, which would restrict access to bathrooms and private single-sex spaces on federal property based on biological sex.

However, to date, neither federal bill has advanced in committee, and their chances of passage are unclear. Still, the legislation signals at least some willingness to expand bathroom bans nationwide.

Next Steps

The Kansas restrictions, while applying to government buildings, could portend further legislation in other states impacting the rights of transgender individuals. Such legislative developments create compliance challenges for multi-state employers where state and local protections may differ, as well as those operating in government buildings, as they attempt to balance compliance with the restrictions with the potential for unlawful employment discrimination and harassment in the workplace.

Employers in Kansas and beyond will want to stay aware of new legislation and developments in this shifting legal landscape. Employers outside Kansas will want to stay aware of all applicable federal, state and local law, including prohibitions on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity under Title VII and state analogues.

Ogletree Deakins’ Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Compliance Practice Group and Workforce Analytics and Compliance Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Compliance, Employment Law, Kansas, and Workforce Analytics and Compliance blogs as additional information becomes available.

This article and more information on how the Trump administration’s actions impact employers can be found on Ogletree Deakins’ Administration Resource Hub.

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