News & Analysis as of September 14, 2025

Civil Rights Act

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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is a United States federal law enacted in 1964 and aimed at preventing discrimination in the workplace on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, and religion. Title VII has been subsequently extended to discrimination on the basis of pregnancy and sexual stereotypes and to prohibit sexual harassment. Title VII applies to all employers with fifteen or more employees including private employers, state and local governments, and educational institutions. less -

Denial of Gender-Affirming Care Does Not Qualify as Sex Discrimination, Eleventh Circuit Holds

Littler on 9/12/2025

On September 9, 2025, in Anna Lange v. Houston County, Georgia, et. al., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that the denial of coverage for gender-affirming surgery was not discriminatory. This decision...more

Fifth Circuit Opens the Door for Growing Discrimination Claims

Rumberger | Kirk on 11/30/2023

A federal appeals court has made it easier for plaintiffs to bring employment discrimination lawsuits, but failed to offer clear guidance on how employers can adjust policies to minimize litigation risk. The en banc...more

Evolving Standards for Title VII Claims in Fifth Circuit and Others Federal Appellate Courts

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 9/22/2023

Plaintiffs need not allege discrimination with respect to an “ultimate employment decision” under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to survive a motion to dismiss, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held,...more

Fifth Circuit Expands Title VII Exposure for Employers

Bracewell LLP on 8/25/2023

On August 18, 2023, in Hamilton v. Dallas County, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc, expanded the circumstances under which an employer can be held liable for disparate treatment under Title VII...more

Federal Appeals Court Overturns Decades-Old Precedent on Workplace Discrimination Claims

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP on 8/25/2023

For decades, courts in the Fifth Circuit have followed a particularly strict rule limiting when employees can sue under Title VII for workplace discrimination. That changed last Friday....more

Fifth Circuit Upends ‘Ultimate Employment Decision’ Requirement for Title VII Discrimination Claims

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 8/23/2023

On August 18, 2023, in Hamilton v. Dallas County, the full Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upended a longstanding precedent, significantly broadening the types of adverse employment actions that could give rise to an...more

No Longer A Mess: En Banc Eleventh Circuit Clarifies the Standard for Similarly Situated Comparators

Rumberger | Kirk on 4/29/2019

Last month, the en banc Eleventh Circuit clarified the appropriate standard for analyzing “similarly situated” comparator evidence in Title VII intentional-discrimination cases. Lewis v. City of Union City, Ga., --- F.3d...more

Court Rules on Sexual Orientation Discrimination

Harris Beach Murtha PLLC on 3/1/2018

On February 26, 2018, the Federal appellate court covering New York State ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees from discrimination based on their sexual orientation. The case is Zarda v....more

UPDATE: The Second Circuit Finds Title VII Protects Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination

BakerHostetler on 2/28/2018

As we discussed in our May 22, 2017 blog post, the Second Circuit agreed to hold an en banc hearing to determine whether an estate for a gay man, who alleged he was terminated as a result of a customer complaint related to...more

Second Circuit Denies Latest Request for En Banc Review in Title VII Sexual Orientation Discrimination Case

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints on 7/1/2017

The Second Circuit has denied a plaintiff’s request to rehear argument en banc (that is, before all of the court’s judges) in a case alleging that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on...more

Seventh Circuit’s En Banc Decision in Hively Opens Door For Transgender Protection Under Title VII

Bowditch & Dewey on 6/7/2017

As we reported a few months ago in a previous article, “7th Circuit Rehears Hively Case”, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to rehear the case of Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College, on the issue of whether Title...more

Second Circuit Orders En Banc Review of Panel Holding that Title VII Does Not Prohibit Sexual Orientation Discrimination

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints on 6/5/2017

We previously discussed the conflict between a Second Circuit panel’s holding in April that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act did not prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and the Seventh Circuit’s...more

Seventh Circuit Becomes First Circuit Court to Extend Title VII Protection to Sexual Orientation Claims

Baker Donelson on 4/27/2017

On April 5, 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (sitting en banc) became the first appeals court in the country to hold that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual...more

Second Circuit Panel: No, We Still Can’t Overturn Precedent on Sexual Orientation Discrimination

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints on 4/25/2017

As we observed in a recent post on the Seventh Circuit’s decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College extending Title VII to sexual orientation claims, the Supreme Court will probably have to resolve the disagreement...more

Seventh Circuit Finds Sexual Orientation Protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

K&L Gates LLP on 4/21/2017

On April 4, 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals became the first federal appeals court in the United States to find that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual...more

The Seventh Circuit’s Big Decision: Sexual Orientation Discrimination Is Prohibited By Title VII

Williams Mullen on 4/12/2017

On April 4, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (covering Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin), sitting en banc, handed down what is being called a monumental decision in the development of legal...more

Sexual Orientation Moves One Step Closer to Being a Protected Characteristic

Poyner Spruill LLP on 4/11/2017

Federal law protects applicants and employees from negative treatment in connection with their employment, where that negative treatment is based on a protected characteristic. Traditionally, courts have interpreted the...more

7th Circuit’s Landmark Decision Holds Title VII Prohibits Sexual Orientation Discrimination in Employment

Fox Rothschild LLP on 4/11/2017

On April 4, 2017, the Seventh Circuit issued a decision with employment law implications. In an en banc decision, Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College, the court held that the protections of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act...more

Federal Appeals Court Rules That Title VII Protects Employees From Sexual Orientation Discrimination

Baker Donelson on 4/10/2017

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits covered employers from discriminating against an employee because of her race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Until this month, no federal court of appeals had...more

Seventh Circuit Extends Title VII Protections to Sexual Orientation

Morgan Lewis on 4/7/2017

The first-of-its-kind decision leads to a split in authority between federal circuits on discrimination and harassment claims on the basis of sexual orientation....more

The Seventh Circuit Holds That Title VII Prohibits Sexual Orientation Discrimination: Key Takeaways for Employers

Kilpatrick on 4/7/2017

On April 4, 2017, the Seventh Circuit, sitting en banc, held in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In an...more

Historic Seventh Circuit Decision Gives LGBTQ Employees More Protections

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP on 4/6/2017

In a landmark opinion issued Tuesday, the Seventh Circuit became the first federal appellate court in the country to extend the protections afforded by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to sexual orientation...more

Seventh Circuit Is First to Hold that Title VII Protects against Sexual Orientation Discrimination

Blank Rome LLP on 4/6/2017

Action Item: In a landmark decision yesterday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit became the first federal circuit court in the nation to hold that discrimination based on sexual orientation is...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

Seventh Circuit Indicates It May Conclude that Sexual Orientation Discrimination is Sex Discrimination Under Title VII

FordHarrison on 12/13/2016

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

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