‘The Civil Rights Act Protects All Workers Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination’ Says Lambda Legal
Lambda Legal has just petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that federal civil rights laws banning sex discrimination extend to protecting gay, lesbian, and bisexual employees. The LGBT legal group argues that several appellate courts have already ruled that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is sex discrimination. Sex discrimination is banned by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Earlier Thursday the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals denied Lambda Legal’s request for an en banc hearing of the case of Jameka K. Evans, who was fired from her job as a security guard at Georgia Regional Hospital. Evans says supervisors targeted her for termination after harassing her because she is a lesbian, as NCRM reported. In March a three judge panel of the 11th Circuit ruled 2-1 against Evans.
Citing precedent to support Evans’ case, Lambda Legal on Thursday notes that earlier this year “the full Seventh Circuit ruled that Ivy Tech Community College violated the Civil Rights Act by discriminating against Kimberly Hively because she is a lesbian.”
“In May, the full Second Circuit Court of Appeals granted en banc review in Zarda v. Altitude Express the case of a New York skydiving instructor who was fired from his job because he was gay.”
Greg Nevins, Counsel and Employment Fairness Strategist for Lambda Legal, says: “We will continue to press the legally correct argument, recognized by so many other courts, that the Civil Rights Act protects all workers against sexual orientation discrimination, whether they are gender-conforming in particular ways or not.â€
Nevins told the Washington Blade they will ask the Supreme Court “to resolve this once and for all and say on a national level that you cannot file people under federal law for being lesbian, gay or bisexual.”
The Supreme Court last week agreed to hear the Masterpiece Cake Shop case, and will decide if discrimination against LGBT people based on religious beliefs is constitutional. If the Court accepts the Evans case, next year will be a huge one for the LGBTQ community and allies.
To comment on this article and other NCRM content, visit our Facebook page.
Image via Lambda Legal