Discrimination, Transgender, LGBTQ

History and Future of the Nation's First Ban on Gender-Affirming Care

Baker Donelson on 6/17/2024

Across the United States, there is a trend of state legislatures passing laws that restrict, or even outright prohibit, transgender minors from access to gender-affirming care, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy,...more

Navigating the Rock & the Hard Place: Conflicting Federal and State Mandates for LGBTQ Employees

Foley & Lardner LLP on 5/14/2024

“The rock and the hard place.” How often do employers find themselves here? If employers have LGBTQ employees in certain states, they are now bumping up against the “rock” of federal laws, like Title VII and Title IX, and the...more

Seventh Circuit Takes On Religious Discrimination

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP on 5/24/2023

The Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed summary judgment in favor of an employer in a religious discrimination case involving a teacher who refused to call transgender students by their chosen names....more

UK Employment Appeal Tribunal: ‘Gender-critical’ Beliefs Are Protected Philosophical Beliefs

Morgan Lewis on 6/16/2021

The UK’s Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) found on 10 June 2021 in Maya Forstater v CGD Europe and others that gender-critical beliefs—including believing that one’s biological sex is immutable and not to be conflated with...more

Biden Administration Issues Order on Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation

Morgan Lewis on 1/25/2021

As one of his first actions in office, President Joe Biden has issued an executive order ensuring that last year’s US Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County is applied immediately and efficiently by all federal...more

EducationCounsel Supports Efforts to Protect Rights of Transgender Students Across the Country

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP on 6/23/2020

Through its long-standing engagement with GLSEN, a national nonprofit dedicated to promoting and supporting LGBTQ+ inclusive schools, EducationCounsel has authored numerous amicus briefs along with Willkie Farr & Gallagher...more

Supreme Court Expands Employment Anti-Discrimination Laws To Protect The LGBTQ Community. Fair Housing Is Likely Next.

Fox Rothschild LLP on 6/16/2020

In a decision which will likely expand the scope of the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) by analogy, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded earlier today that a 1960’s era civil rights statute protects gay and transgender workers. By...more

Management Alert – The Current Federal Retrenchment on LGBT Rights

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 8/22/2017

Seyfarth Synopsis: The first eight months of the new administration signals a retrenchment on the executive branch’s view of legal protections due LGBT individuals, including in employment....more

Does Transgender Military Ban Signal New Direction of Trump Administration on LGBTQ Rights?

FordHarrison on 8/2/2017

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

New California Transgender Regulations: Employer Do's & Don'ts

Ballard Spahr LLP on 7/25/2017

California continues to forge a trail for gender identity protections in the United States. On July 1, 2017, the Fair Employment and Housing Council enacted new regulations addressing transgender issues that broaden the scope...more

Best in Law: What to do to Comply with Transgender Laws - New California Laws Took Effect July 1

Best Best & Krieger LLP on 7/12/2017

California is continuing to be a leader on emerging civil rights issues. Back in 2004, California enacted laws to protect transgender workers. Transgender issues have become a front-burner topic. On the national scene,...more

EEOC Sues Apple Metro Restaurant Chain for Sex Discrimination & Retaliation

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... on 6/12/2017

Employee Was Harassed at Hawthorne Applebee's Because of Her Gender Identity And Fired for Objecting, Federal Agency Charges - NEW YORK - Apple Metro, Inc., which operates several dozen Applebee's Neighborhood Bar & Grill...more

Federal Judge Rules that Transgender Employee's ADA Claim May Proceed

FordHarrison on 5/30/2017

On May 18, 2017, in the first decision of its kind, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania held that transgender people are not categorically barred from protection by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) if they suffer...more

IXL Learning Sued by EEOC for Retaliation

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... on 5/25/2017

Employee Fired for Posting About Discrimination on Glassdoor.com, Federal Agency Charges - SAN FRANCISCO - Educational technology company IXL Learning Inc. violated federal law when it retaliated against an employee for...more

North Carolina Enacts Law Repealing "Bathroom" Bill But Limiting Local Anti-Discrimination Laws

Littler on 4/5/2017

Last week, North Carolina lawmakers repealed the state’s controversial House Bill 2 (“HB 2”), which had required individuals to use the public bathroom that corresponds with the sex on their birth certificate, along with...more

Second and Eleventh Circuits Rule They are Bound by Prior Precedent that Title VII Does Not Prohibit Sexual Orientation...

FordHarrison on 4/5/2017

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

Sexual Orientation Discrimination Illegal

Sherman & Howard L.L.C. on 4/5/2017

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals is the first federal appellate court in the country to rule that Title VII already protects employees from discrimination because of sexual orientation. In every other case that has...more

Texas' Pending LGBT-Related Legislation: What it Means for Employers

FordHarrison on 3/30/2017

Issues pertaining to LGBT rights have been a focal point of public debate and discourse for several years, but since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, these issues increasingly have also been the...more

Dressing for Work in California this Summer

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 3/22/2017

Seyfarth Synopsis: With summer months almost upon us, here are some dress code tips and tricks for employers to ensure both employee compliance with relaxed summer dress codes and increased employee motivation and morale. We...more

Dear Littler: How Should I Handle Customer Concerns about a Transgender Employee?

Littler on 3/22/2017

Dear Littler: We have a transgender employee at work, Sarah, who identifies and presents as a female. She is in the process of transitioning and still occasionally exhibits traditionally “male” physical attributes. A client...more

California Businesses To Provide Neutral Restrooms So All Genders Can Do Their Business

FordHarrison on 3/14/2017

In California, all business establishments, places of public accommodation, or government agencies with single-occupancy restrooms are now required to identify such toilet facilities as all-gender restrooms. In September...more

Supreme Court Remands Transgender Rights Case to Court of Appeals After Trump Administration Withdraws Obama Era Guidance

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 3/10/2017

Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 6, 2017, the Supreme Court remanded a highly anticipated transgender rights case back to the Court of Appeals after the Trump Administration withdrew Obama era guidance regarding the rights of...more

Discrimination › Transgender › LGBTQ