Sex Discrimination - Orientation And Identity

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral argument on October 8, 2019, in three high-stakes cases that will decide whether LGTBQ+ employees are protected from workplace discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Executive Summary: The next session of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is just around the corner. On October 8, 2019, SCOTUS will hear oral argument on three closely watched cases, Bostock v. Clayton Co., Georgia, Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Home v.

Every year, June is “Pride Month,” but LGBTQ+ issues challenge the construction industry year-round.

Whether LGTBQ employees are protected from employment discrimination by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court next term.

The U.S. Supreme Court announced on April 22, 2019 that it will decide whether gay, lesbian, and transgender workers are expressly protected under federal civil rights law on the basis of their sexual orientation. The Court granted review of three cases,

Today, April 22, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) granted certiorari in three cases involving the question of whether gay and transgender workers are protected from discrimination by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The three cases SCOTUS agreed to hear each involve

Gender identity, transgender status, gender non-conformance, and workplace gender transitions are timely topics, both societally and within workplaces. March 31 is International Transgender Day of Visibility, which aims to celebrate transgender people and raise awareness of discrimination faced by t

On August 27, 2018, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed an Illinois District Court in holding that a seventy-year-old homosexual woman could maintain her Fair Housing Act (FHA) claims against retirement community, Glen St. Andrew Living Community, for failing to take reasonable steps to pr

A recent decision from the Eleventh Circuit has now caused a split in the circuit courts as to whether a claim for discrimination based upon sexual orientation can be asserted under Title VII. In a six-page dissent, Judge Robin Rosenbaum calls out her peers on their July 18, 2018, three-page decisio

Executive Summary: The protracted case of Gavin Grimm is set to be heard once again by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Grimm, a transgender male, was denied use of the boys’ bathroom while a high school student in Gloucester County, Virginia. The 2015 decision by the Unite

Executive Summary: On June 4, 2018, the United States Supreme Court, in a 7-2 ruling, found in favor of Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakes, who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. He cited religious beliefs condemning gay marriage as his reasoning. The LGBTQ community had ho

The United States Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of Jack Phillips, the Colorado baker who made news when he refused to bake a custom cake for a same-sex couple because he believed doing so would violate his religious beliefs. This was one of the most watched and highly anticipated decisions to com

On June 4, 2018, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. and Jack C. Phillips v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. In a 7-2 opinion authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Court held that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission’s actions violated a shop owner's right to the

Executive Summary: The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest to weigh in on the heated debate as to whether sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status and/or gender expression are protected classes under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Following on the heels of the Sec

Nexsen Pruet’s webinar series presentation last month was on Hot Topics in Employment Discrimination and included a segment on the ABC’s of LGBTQ issues in the workplace. As we discussed in the webinar, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers North and South Carolina, has not determined th

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently ruled, in what many have described as a ground-breaking decision, that discrimination based on an employee’s transgender status is discrimination based on “sex” in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII).1 While the

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission may pursue claims that an employee was discriminated against on the basis of transgender status in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the federal appeals court in Cincinnati has ruled in a landmark decision. EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral

In a much-anticipated decision, the federal appeals court in New York has held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on an individual’s sexual orientation. Zarda v. Altitude Express, No. 15-3775 (2d Cir. Feb. 26, 2017).

The Second Circuit recently joined the Seventh Circuit in determining that discrimination based on sexual orientation violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Executive Summary: Overruling prior circuit precedent, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held today that sexual orientation discrimination is a subset of sex discrimination under Title VII. In reaching this conclusion, the Second Circuit joins the Seventh Circuit, deepening a spl