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: 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 affirmed that a transgender student demonstrated a likelihood of success on claims that his school district’s decision to prohibit him from using the boys’ restroom violated both Title...more
6/8/2017
/ Department of Education ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Public Schools ,
School Restrooms ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
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: To the surprise of many, the EEOC is not retreating from the argument first made by the Obama administration that Title VII forbids employment discrimination based on gender identity.
In EEOC v. R.G....more
3/9/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Popular ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration ,
Wrongful Termination
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Departments of Justice and Education jointly issued a “Dear Colleague” letter yesterday withdrawing and rescinding the Obama Administration’s prior guidance letters which instructed schools that...more
2/26/2017
/ Colleges ,
Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Gender Identity ,
Gloucester County School Board v G.G. ,
LGBTQ ,
Obama Administration ,
Public Schools ,
School Restrooms ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration ,
Universities ,
Withdrawal
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
Seyfarth Synopsis: In State of Texas v. United States, a District Court issued a nationwide injunction to enjoin the Department of Education and Department of Justice from enforcing their guidelines on accommodations for...more
8/26/2016
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Department of Education ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Gender Identity ,
Injunctions ,
Notice and Comment ,
School Restrooms ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Split of Authority ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Fourth Circuit in a case of first impression held that Title IX entitles transgender students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity. Though that ruling only discusses Title IX, the...more
5/4/2016
/ Appeals ,
Department of Education ,
Equal Protection ,
Gender Identity ,
Public Schools ,
Reversal ,
School Restrooms ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit holds that Title IX protects a transgender student’s right to use the restroom that aligns with the student’s gender identity.
The Fourth Circuit has become the first...more
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
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
In last week’s oral argument on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans, Chief Justice Roberts asked the following question:
Counsel, I’m not sure it’s necessary to get into sexual orientation to resolve the...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