Image by Mike Braun from Pixabay
On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate based on sex, also prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status. It was a landmark opinion.
One of the actions consolidated into the Bostock action was EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes. The EEOC argued specifically that Title VII prohibits discrimination based on transgender status. On November 30, 2020, it settled.
And I’ve got all the details for you.
Injunctive Relief.
The employer cannot fire any employees based on transgender status. Plus, they cannot provide employees unequal clothing allowances based on sex.
Monetary Compensation.
(Because injunctive relief alone would’ve been pretty anti-climatic.)
The employer must pay $130,000 ($63,723.91 in backpay, plus $66,276.09 on compensatory damages) and another $120,000 in attorneys fees and costs to the ACLU Foundation.
The employer must also pay each of its customer-facing female employees employed since September 9, 2012, a stipend of the average amount that the company spent on clothing for male employees for each year between September 9, 2012 through November 30, 2020, plus ongoing clothing benefits equal to those provided to male employees.
Notice Posting, Policy Revision, and Training.
The Employer must post a copy of this blog post a Notice of Non-Discrimination Policy and revise its written policies and procedures governing sex discrimination. The company must also train all employees on sex discrimination, including transgender discrimination and sex-based stereotyping.
Defending Employment Litigation Ain’t Free, You Know.
Add all that to whatever legal bills they incurred in connection with defending the action from the EEOC to a trial court in Michigan to the Sixth Circuit to the Supreme Court and back to Michigan again, and this is one expensive anti-discrimination lesson!