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Articles Posted in Sexual Orientation

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NY federal court concludes that Title VII does not prohibit anti-gay bias….yet.

Last week, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission made headlines by filing its first lawsuits against private-sector businesses challenging sexual orientation discrimination as sex discrimination. Meanwhile, yesterday, another federal court in Christiansen v. Omnicom Group, Inc. (opinion here) concluded just the opposite: sexual orientation discrimination is “reprehensible,” but does not violate Title VII of the…

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Legal or illegal, companies don’t have to tolerate LGBT discrimination at work

Yesterday, I blogged here about the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission‘s first lawsuits challenging sexual-orientation discrimination as sex discrimination. While part of the EEOC’s Strategic Enforcement Plan to address emerging and developing issues, getting federal courts to agree that sexual-orientation discrimination is unlawful under Title VII is an uphill battle. But, that doesn’t…

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The EEOC is taking businesses accused of anti-gay bias to federal court now

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is officially stepping into the ring and taking the fight to private-sector employers whom the EEOC believes has discriminated against workers on the basis of sexual orientation. Yesterday, the EEOC announced (here) that it had filed two complaints in federal court against employers whom it…

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Five employment cases blowing up my DropBox and Pocket

You know, being a client of the Blogger King has its perks. (That’s me. I’m the Blogger King). When I’m not litigating and counseling on employment-related issues, I’m taking blog post requests and emailing weekly updates of HR goodies that don’t make it onto the blog. But, with my DropBox and Pocket chock full…

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Another court holds that LGB discrimination is sex discrimination under federal law

On Tuesday, I had a great sandwich. You see, I made a turkey and swiss sandwich at home and, in a moment of brilliance, I added some of the leftover guacamole from Taqueria La Veracruzana. Oh, right, you’re here to learn about sexual-orientation discrimination. Ok, forget the sandwich, let’s talk LGBT…

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Latest study indicates rampant transgender discrimination at work

On Tuesday, voters in Houston, TX took to the polls and said no to Prop 1. That’s a ballot measure that would have outlawed discrimination at work against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees and job applicants. Amanda Terkel at The Huffington Post reports here that, despite having widespread support from local…

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Court upholds employee firing after complaining about gay slurs. Was that a mistake?

Mr. Gaff worked as a custodian at a University. He claimed that, on several occasions, his subordinate called him a “fa***t.” So, Mr. Gaff complained to his supervisor. Then, Mr. Gaff was later fired. Retaliation? Are you going to be at the ABA Annual Labor & Employment Law Conference in Philly…

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Did a federal court just rule that transgender discrimination is sex discrimination?

Back in April, the EEOC concluded that transgender discrimination is discrimination based on sex and, therefore, violates Title VII. That same month, a federal court denied another employer’s motion to dismiss the sex discrimination claims of a transgender employee. However, in denying the motion to dismiss, the court did not…

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Coming soon: A new, comprehensive LGBT anti-discrimination bill in Congress

On Monday, I got into last week’s EEOC ruling that sexual-orientation discrimination is sex discrimination and, therefore, violates Title VII. Yesterday, I took up the First Amendment Defense Act, which has been described by the ACLU as “Indiana on Steroids.” On Thursday, make way for the Equality Act, according to Chris Johnson at the Washington…

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New bill in Congress would permit discrimination against unwed moms and promiscuous men

  Oh, and it would allow businesses to fire LGBT employees too. Sorry EEOC. It’s the First Amendment Defense Act, which has been described by the ACLU as “Indiana on Steroids.” Senator Mike Lee (UT-R) and Congressman Raúl Labrador (ID-R), who introduced identical versions last month in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives,…