Discrimination, Employer Liability Issues, LGBTQ

California District Court Partially Enjoins Application of DEI and “Gender Ideology” Executive Orders Against Coalition of...

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 6/23/2025

Recently, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in the case of San Francisco AIDS Foundation v. Trump temporarily halted enforcement of parts of the diversity, equity and inclusion and “gender...more

Recent Executive Orders’ Impact on the EEOC

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL on 2/26/2025

Recent executive orders have caused the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to abandon litigation and guidance on LGBTQ+ protections and other areas that were priorities during the Biden administration....more

Anticipated Changes at the EEOC Under the Incoming Trump Administration

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC on 12/19/2024

The second Trump administration will undoubtedly bring changes to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). However, significant changes are not likely to occur immediately given that the EEOC will have a Democratic...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

EEOC Releases Proposed Enforcement Guidance on Workplace Harassment

Arnall Golden Gregory LLP on 10/31/2023

On September 29, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC” or “Commission”) released its proposed Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace (“Proposed Guidance”). The Proposed Guidance “is...more

District Court Enjoins EEOC and Department of Education Guidance Protecting LGBTQ Rights

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC on 7/26/2022

On July 15, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee entered a preliminary injunction barring the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Education (ED) from enforcing...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

The Uncertain Landscape of Discrimination & Harassment Laws: Expanding the Definition of “Protected Class”

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 6/5/2019

Seyfarth Synopsis: Laws protecting individuals from discrimination and harassment in the workplace are expanding rapidly at the state and local levels, while the federal landscape remains unclear regarding LGBTQ rights. ...more

4 Key Trends In Workplace Class Action Litigation For 2017: #3 Governmental Enforcement Litigation

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 1/19/2018

Seyfarth Synopsis: Despite the major ideological shift that occurred within American politics in 2017, government-initiated litigation continued to flourish if not increase even after with the election of the pro-business...more

Eleventh Circuit Sets the Stage for U.S. Supreme Court Certification on Whether Sexual Orientation is Protected by Title VII

FordHarrison on 7/12/2017

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

Philadelphia Empowers Agency to Shut Down Discriminating Businesses

Morgan Lewis on 6/29/2017

Businesses in the “City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection” must now take this slogan seriously, ensuring no discrimination against patrons, or risk being shut down....more

New Law Empowers Philadelphia with Authority to Close Businesses Found to Discriminate

Clark Hill PLC on 6/27/2017

On May 17, 2017, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney signed a bill into law that gives the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations authority to impose an additional, harsher remedy on businesses that are found to have engaged in...more

Employment Law Authority - May/June 2017

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 6/6/2017

THE EVOLVING DEFINITION OF SEX(UAL ORIENTATION) UNDER TITLE VII - On April 4, 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued its highly anticipated decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, making...more

Full Second Circuit to Revisit Its Position On Sexual Orientation as a Protected Class Under Title VII

FordHarrison on 6/2/2017

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

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

Did You Know . . . Seventh Circuit Issues Landmark Decision Holding Title VII Prohibits Sexual Orientation Discrimination

Nossaman LLP on 5/17/2017

In a landmark decision, the Seventh Circuit recently held that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a form of actionable sex discrimination under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. Unlike the...more

Breaking New Ground: Seventh Circuit Rules that Title VII Protects Sexual Orientation

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC on 4/10/2017

Workplace rights for LGBT individuals has been a rapidly developing area of the law. A little over two years ago, former President Obama signed an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating against...more

Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation is Sex Discrimination Under Title VII: Seventh Circuit Takes Clear Stand

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 4/5/2017

On Tuesday, the Seventh Circuit jumped into the Title VII sexual orientation discussion with both feet. In Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, a full-court reversed an earlier three judge panel decision, finding...more

Is Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Employment Discrimination Prohibited? It Depends on Whom You Ask

Williams Mullen on 4/5/2017

There have been many news stories over the past couple of years about sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in the workplace and in schools. Yet, in none of those stories is it ever made clear what the actual...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

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