Executive Summary: On June 23, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 20-year precedent in two lawsuits: Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v....more
7/25/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VII
Executive Summary: June is Pride Month. On June 16, 2021, Miguel Cardona, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education (the “Department”) under President Joe Biden, issued a Notice of Interpretation stating that Title IX...more
6/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Executive Summary: Within hours of his inauguration on January 20, 2021, President Biden signed his Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation....more
2/1/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
On September 22, 2020, President Trump signed Executive Order 13950, Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping (the “EO”), which indicates that it seeks to “combat offensive and anti-American race and sex stereotyping and...more
10/13/2020
/ Bias ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Deregulation ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Race Relations ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
On September 22, 2020, President Trump signed Executive Order 13950, Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping (the “EO”), which seeks to “combat offensive and anti-American race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating,” and end...more
10/6/2020
/ Bias ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Deregulation ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Race Relations ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
Complimentary Webinar
June is Pride Month and this year it has extra meaning for the LGBTQ+ community, allies and advocates. On June 15th, Justice Gorsuch, writing for the 6-3 majority of the United States Supreme Court,...more
6/19/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
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 ,
Webinars
June is Pride Month. This year’s Pride Month has extra meaning for the LGBTQ+ community, allies and advocates. Yesterday, June 15, 2020, Justice Gorsuch, writing for the 6-3 majority of the United States Supreme Court, handed...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
The next session of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is just around the corner. On October 8, 2019, SCOTUS will hear oral argument on three closely watched cases, Bostock v. Clayton Co., Georgia, Altitude...more
9/9/2019
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Yesterday, April 22, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) granted certiorari in three cases involving the question of whether gay and transgender workers are protected from discrimination by Title VII of...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
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest to weigh in on the heated debate as to whether sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status and/or gender expression are protected classes under Title VII of the...more
3/20/2018
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status and/or gender expression remains a heated debate in the courts and between...more
10/6/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
On July 26, 2017, President Trump announced via Twitter that the military, arguably the country’s largest employer, will no longer allow transgender people to serve, thus breaking from the Obama Administration’s lift of the...more
8/2/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Military Service Members ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
On March 10, 2017, in Evans v. Georgia Regional Hospital, a split panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that it was bound by prior precedent that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not...more
7/12/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII
On May 30, 2017, on the heels of the Seventh Circuit’s ground-breaking en banc decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech. College holding that sexual orientation is a protected trait under Title VII, a unanimous three-judge panel of...more
6/12/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Public Schools ,
School Restrooms ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
While the Seventh Circuit definitively has held that sexual orientation discrimination is discrimination “because of sex” and, therefore, a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (as reported by...more
6/2/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII
On April 3, 2017, in Christiansen v. Omnicom Group, Inc., the Second Circuit held that it was bound by prior precedent in ruling that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not prohibit sexual orientation...more
5/9/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII
In a landmark decision overruling decades of precedent, the Seventh Circuit en banc declared that sexual orientation discrimination violates Title VII in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College. This comes as the first decision...more
President Trump has signed a Joint Resolution (H.J. Res. 37) disapproving federal agency rules implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order (EO 13673) (also known as the “Blacklisting” EO) signed by former...more
4/6/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Blacklist ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Contractors ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Pay Transparency ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
As these authors have previously reported, several cases analyzing whether sexual orientation is protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 have been winding their way through the courts. ...more
4/5/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
En Banc Review ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gloucester County School Board v G.G. ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
School Restrooms ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
There has been much speculation about the Trump administration’s position with respect to LGBTQ rights. We may now have our first glimpse. Just days after Jeff Sessions was confirmed as Attorney General, the government has...more
2/20/2017
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discrimination ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gloucester County School Board v G.G. ,
LGBTQ ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Public Schools ,
Restroom Legislation ,
School Restrooms ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
Since its enactment, courts have followed the premise that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not prohibit sexual orientation discrimination. A changing of the tides began in July 2015, when the Equal Employment...more
12/13/2016
/ Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
En Banc Review ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Full-Time Employees ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Job Promotions ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour