Title VII of Civil Rights Act protects against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
In the past month, two federal courts of appeals have issued rulings that are big victories for gay and lesbian employees who have suffered discrimination in the workplace. These court rulings stand for the proposition that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation — meaning that employees who have been discriminated against for their sexual orientation can file a lawsuit against their employers.
The first ruling arose from a New York case involving a gay man whose employer repeatedly discriminated against him based on his sexual orientation. The company’s chief digital officer would make disparaging comments about the employee, drawing lewd cartoons, and asking him if he had HIV or AIDS. After the employee filed a lawsuit against the company, they asked him to write a gay pride campaign for them. The trial court dismissed the employee’s lawsuit, but the appeals court overturned the lower court’s ruling. In its holding, the appeals court held that the employee’s claims were a type of gender stereotyping, which are a form of discrimination that is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
The second ruling came several weeks later. It was based on an Indiana case involving a lesbian woman who worked as an instructor at a community college. She sued the college claiming that they did not hire her because of her sexual orientation. The trial court dismissed her case, but the appeals court ruled that she had the right to sue for discrimination based on sexual orientation. In this ruling, the court explicitly stated that gay and lesbian employees had the right to sue under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act for discrimination based on sexual orientation. According to the court, it is common sense that anyone who claims that she has experienced employment discrimination based on sexual orientation has set forth a case of sex discrimination for purposed of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Taken together, these two rulings represent a significant victory for employees who may have an additional basis to file suit against employers who discriminate against them on the basis of their sexual orientation. These rulings make sexual orientation a protected class for purposes of employment law litigation. If the companies impacted by the lawsuits appeal the cases to the Supreme Court, then a ruling would have the potential to impact the entire nation.
At PLBH, our dedicated team of employment law attorneys represents employees who have faced discrimination in the workplace. Whether you have been subject to crude jobs, failure to be promoted, harassment or other types of unfair treatment, we can work with you to make sure that you have the highest quality representation at each step of the process. Because we understand the unique financial stress that many of our clients face in situations involving workplace discrimination and harassment, we may be able to offer our clients contingency fee arrangements. Contact us today to learn more, or to schedule a free initial consultation, at (800) 435-7542 or info@plblaw.com.