Last Friday, I briefly mentioned the EEOC’s recent decision, in which it concluded that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the federal anti-discrimination law that bans employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, and sex, also forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual). The EEOC concluded that sex…
Ok, presumably, I’m not the only employment lawyer trying to apply the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges to the employer-employee relationship. But, I can guarantee that this will be the best post you read about it today. #noguarantees In case you’re just returning from a long-weekend sojourn to Mars, on…
Caitlyn Jenner got the cover of Vanity Fair and a million new Twitter followers shortly after confirming that she was no longer Bruce Jenner. So, by riding that wave with a timely blog post, I should at least get page 5 — above the fold — in the latest edition of “Employment-Law Blog…
Last September, for the first time ever, the EEOC sued two private employers for discriminating against employees who had transitioned from one gender to another. One of those cases settled last week for $150K. Yesterday, the other action survived the employer’s motion to dismiss the case. Now, the federal court deciding…
Exactly one month ago, I addressed what many consider to be the elephant in the room when it comes to transgender employees: bathroom use. On Wednesday, EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum fired off a series of tweets (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) to lawyers representing employers and employees. Below (and…
On my speaking boondoggles around the country, what’s the biggest issue I hear from HR professionals involving transgender employees? Yep, it’s the use of the bathroom. Folks, it’s not that complicated. But, I’ll get to that in a sec. First, with a tip of the hat to Joshua Block (@JoshACLU), over…
Over the weekend, I joined a Facebook thread discussing a recent federal court complaint filed in Texas by a former Saks employee, Leyth O. Jamal. Ms. Jamal claims that Saks violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by discriminating against her because she is transsexual. Saks claims (here) that…
Under federal law (Title VII), employers cannot discriminate because of one’s sex. While Title VII does not explicitly coverage transgender employees (i.e., someone born female who presents male, and vice-versa; also known as gender identity), the EEOC’s position is that transgender employees are protected too. Indeed, they’ve begun filing federal…
Even without a federal law that specifically bans discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation or gender identify, it’s no secret that one of the EEOC’s top priorities is to protect LGBT workers from discrimination. And the EEOC is being quite transparent about it, with a new guide for…
And here I just got finished telling an audience yesterday at the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act was dead. Guess I was wrong. More on this after the jump… * * * Last November, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would amend Title VII to forbid LGBT…
