Seyfarth Synopsis: A Federal Court has temporarily enjoined the Trump administration from putting into effect its recent rule that strips the Affordable Care Act of its gender identity protections....more
8/20/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Covered Entities ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Final Rules ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Section 1557 ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
For decades, courts and practitioners have struggled with whether federal law protects employees against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Yesterday, in a landmark 6-3 decision authored by...more
6/16/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Seyfarth Synopsis: Yesterday, the Supreme Court granted review to a trio of Title VII cases raising the issue of whether Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The Court’s...more
4/23/2019
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Certiorari ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Seyfarth Synopsis: In landmark decision, the Second Circuit joins the Seventh Circuit in holding that Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation as a subset of sex discrimination....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Oral argument suggests the Supreme Court is narrowly divided on how to reconcile non-discrimination protections for LGBT individuals with claims for religious liberty, with Justice Kennedy appearing likely...more
12/11/2017
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Employment Policies ,
First Amendment ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Free Speech ,
Freedom of Religion ,
LGBTQ ,
Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission ,
Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd v Colorado Civil Rights Commission ,
Oral Argument ,
Public Accommodation ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Seyfarth Synopsis: In the first case following the Department of Justice’s pronouncement that Title VII does not prohibit discrimination against transgender persons on the basis of gender identity, a court in the Western...more
11/2/2017
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Hostile Environment ,
LGBTQ ,
Protected Class ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Justice has reversed the previous Administration’s position on employment protections for transgender individuals, and issued a memorandum that will likely be relied on by private...more
10/12/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
First Amendment ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Seyfarth Synopsis: The first eight months of the new administration signals a retrenchment on the executive branch’s view of legal protections due LGBT individuals, including in employment....more
8/22/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Education ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Military Service Members ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Seventh Circuit becomes the first appellate court to hold that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is prohibited as sex discrimination under Title VII. The decision establishes a circuit...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 6, 2017, the Supreme Court remanded a highly anticipated transgender rights case back to the Court of Appeals after the Trump Administration withdrew Obama era guidance regarding the rights of...more
3/10/2017
/ American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ,
Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discrimination ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gloucester County School Board v G.G. ,
LGBTQ ,
Remand ,
School Restrooms ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
Seyfarth Synopsis: Increasingly, courts have held that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity violates Title VII. Federal district courts in Nevada and Pennsylvania have recently joined their...more
12/6/2016
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Identity ,
Hostile Environment ,
School Restrooms ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Wrongful Termination
On October 28, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal in the matter of Gloucester County School Board v. G.G., which asks the Court to weigh in on the issue of restroom access for transgender students. The...more
11/22/2016
/ Department of Education ,
Discrimination ,
Gloucester County School Board v G.G. ,
LGBTQ ,
Public Schools ,
School Restrooms ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
Seyfarth Synopsis: A Seventh Circuit panel’s ruling that Title VII does not cover claims of sexual orientation discrimination will be heard en banc by the Circuit. Whether an en banc ruling affirms or reverses the panel’s...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The passage of “Bathroom” or “Religious Freedom” bills raises issues for employers operating in impacted states. Employers in these states may wish to consider taking proactive and affirmative steps in the...more
4/13/2016
/ American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ,
Employee Restrooms ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Local Ordinance ,
New Legislation ,
Preemption ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
State and Local Government ,
Title VII
As we’ve been reporting in our blogs, the EEOC continues to pursue an expansive theory of discrimination. It has taken the position that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is prohibited...more
A Judge in the Northern District of Illinois has found that the protections of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 do not extend to cases of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
This ruling is in...more
In the months since the EEOC’s landmark ruling in Baldwin v Foxx, the looming question has been: Would federal courts adopt the Commission’s position that claims of sexual orientation discrimination were cognizable under...more
Are Federal Courts ready to recognize that Title VII’s anti-discrimination prohibition extends to claims of sexual orientation?
This question will be decided when the Seventh Circuit issues a ruling in Kimberly Hively v....more
The Obama administration continues to use its executive authority to expand societal inclusion of transgender individuals. On September 3, the Department of Health and Human Services issued proposed rules under Section 1557...more
9/16/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Hobby Lobby ,
LGBTQ ,
Obama Administration ,
Public Health Insurance Marketplace ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Transgender
In a landmark ruling on July 15, 2015 in _____ [name of charging party kept secret] v. Foxx, EEOC Appeal No. 2012-24738–FAA-03 (July 15, 2015), the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC’) held for the first time...more
In last week’s oral argument on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans, Chief Justice Roberts asked the following question:
Counsel, I’m, I’m not sure it’s necessary to get into sexual orientation to resolve...more
5/7/2015
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
LGBTQ ,
Oral Argument ,
Popular ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII