Tag: Sexual Orientation Discrimination

Facebook Post Lands HR Manager in Hot Water

Building on its reassertion that Title VII doesn’t cover sexual orientation, the federal appeals court in New Orleans recently ruled there is no protection for employees who complain about perceived sexual orientation bias either. An HR manager who posted her opinions on Facebook about a man trying on a dress—and was subsequently fired for unsatisfactory […]

Culture Clash: Federal Agencies Offer Different Interpretations of Same Issue

Momentous decisions regarding workplace investigations and protections for LGBT employees are likely coming from different departments and agencies of the federal government. Currently, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have opposing views on whether workplace investigations into sexual harassment can be confidential. And the U.S. Department of Justice […]

Brett Kavanaugh: How Will LGBTQ-Based Antidiscrimination Policies Fare?

The confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh have finished (pending new hearings surrounding sexual misconduct allegations), and they have been filled with political strife already. I recently sat down with Mark Phillis, an attorney at Littler Mendelson, to discuss some of the fears that the LGBTQ community has about the future of workplace discrimination laws.

Oklahoma jury awards transgender worker $1.165 million in bias suit

by Charlie Plumb The courts, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) hold differing views on whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or sexual identity. Nevertheless, on November 20, an Oklahoma City federal court jury awarded a transgender […]

confict

Employers in limbo as government entities differ on meaning of laws

by Burton J. Fishman When the U.S. Supreme Court opened its new term on October 2, 2017, the legal world was knocked off its axis. In a rarely seen occurrence, the solicitor general, speaking on behalf of the United States, and the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) took opposing positions on […]

Stage is set for SCOTUS to rule on Title VII and sexual orientation

by Ryan B. Frazier Since the civil rights movement of the 1960s, state and federal laws have been enacted to prohibit employment discrimination against individuals on the basis of their race, ethnicity, age, disability, religion, and gender. Until recently, virtually none of those antidiscrimination laws covered employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. […]

Diversity and inclusion director gets a little inclusion

by Michelle Lee Flores The California Court of Appeal threw a solitary bone to Toyota’s director of diversity and inclusion when it reversed a trial court’s dismissal of his sexual orientation discrimination claim. The court of appeal held that the former employee had provided sufficient evidence that a senior manager’s perception that he was “too […]

Sexual Orientation

DOJ Says Title VII Doesn’t Apply to Sexual Orientation Discrimination

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed an amicus brief in the case of an employee who claimed his employer violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act when it discriminated against him on the basis of his sexual orientation.  The DOJ’s brief asserts that Title VII’s prohibition of sex discrimination does not extend to […]