Sex Category Archives — Page 18 of 24 — The Employer Handbook Blog Published by Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Employment Lawyer

PA federal court turns the page and protects gay workers from discrimination

November 7, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

In 2001, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals decided Bibby v. Philadelphia Coca Cola Bottling Co. In Bibby, the Third Circuit could not have been clearer about whether federal anti-discrimination law made LGBT bias at work unlawful.

“Title VII does not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Congress has repeatedly rejected legislation that would have extended Title VII to cover sexual orientation.”

That’s binding precedent on all lower federal courts in Pennsylvania.

Except, on Friday, Judge Cathy Bissoon from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania concluded EEOC v. Scott Medical (opinion here) that Bibby is questionable, outdated jurisprudence.

HR-101: Did an NFL fan create a hostile work environment by throwing a sex toy on the field?

October 31, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

At halftime of my seven-year-old’s soccer game, I was perusing my slow weekend RSS feed. Of the seven Feedly items, one stood out: a “news” from Deadspin (NSFW) about a fan who hit the five yard line with a phallus toss (video is NSFW) during the third quarter of the National Football League between the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots. Here’s another angle. (Still NSFW).

And, it got me thinking…

This could make for a good HR compliance lesson. Trust me.

New report highlights rampant hiring bias against qualified transgender applicants

October 24, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

Hold up. I need to catch my breath after last night’s episode of The Walking Dead.

(Don’t worry. No spoilers ahead).

And speaking of LGBT rights at work, here are two more recent victories for HR to ponder

October 13, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

As a corollary to yesterday’s post about David Lopez stepping down as EEOC General Counsel —

*** Googles “corollary” — swish! ***

— I bring you news of two recent court decisions advancing LGBT rights at work.

Court says Hobby Lobby decision sometimes greenlights sex discrimination at work

August 22, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

I teased it in Friday’s post.

Last week, a Michigan federal court held (here) that a workplace dress code that requires one gender to conform to a sex stereotype (e.g., men must wear suits, and women must wear dresses) is “direct evidence” of sex discrimination. But, the employer in the Michigan case refused to waver from the letter of the dress code, and avoided a sex discrimination claim under Title VII.

Why? Because Hobby Lobby.

Your dress code may create a big sex-discrimination mess at work

August 19, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

Just for today, head on over to LinkedIn, and check out my post about how strict application of your dress code could result in a nasty sex discrimination claim.

(And a little teaser for Monday — I’ll explain why the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision may trump Title VII and allow some employers to discriminate).

“A person can be married on Saturday and then fired on Monday for just that act.”

August 1, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

The lede comes directly from last Thursday’s much anticipated decision, in which the Seventh Circuit concluded in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College (opinion here) that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the federal workplace anti-discrimination statute, does not protect workers from discrimination based on LGBT status.

Trailblazing federal court flatly rejects one free tea-bagging at work

July 21, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

No, not that tea-bagging. And just when you thought that Your Blogness couldn’t possibly raise his game (raise, right?) after yesterday’s fart post.

(Yes, the next 1000+ words will either be my G.O.A.T. or my Waterloo, which, I’m told, is bad.)

This, right here, is the LGBT-discrimination case for employers to watch

July 6, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

According to Chris Geidner at Buzzfeed.com (here), 128 members of Congress filed a brief in Christiansen v. Omnicom Group, Inc., urging the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to conclude the discrimination based on sexual orientation is sex discrimination and, therefore, violates Title VII.

So, yes, you should pay attention.

EEOC reaches historic $200K settlement on its first sexual orientation bias lawsuit

June 27, 2016 | by Eric B. Meyer

In early March, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed its first lawsuits, in which it alleged that employer had violated Title VII by discriminating based on sexual orientation.

Late last week, one of those lawsuits settled.