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Breaking: Court of Appeals Holds Title VII Protects LGBT Employees From Sexual Orientation Discrimination in the Workplace


Yesterday, the full Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that LGBT employees are protected from workplace discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  (Note, three judges on the Seventh Circuit who previously heard this case last year held that Title VII did not provide a cause of action for sexual orientation discrimination claims.  The full Seventh Circuit eventually heard arguments on the case and then issued this decision yesterday). 

The eight judges, who ruled in favor of the employee, expanded the scope of coverage that had traditionally been afforded to employees under Title VII.  Readers might recall that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee based on their "race, color, religion, sex, or national origin."  However, Title VII does not explicitly define discrimination "based on sex".  Some courts have held that "sex" refers to only male or female, while others have argued that it extends to sexual orientation.  However, with this ruling, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that sexual orientation discrimination claims brought by employees against their employers are actionable under Title VII. 

This case arises out of an incident in 2009 when someone reported seeing adjunct teacher, Kim Hively, kissing her girlfriend in the parking lot of Ivy Tech Community College (where Hively taught).  Hively was apparently reprimanded and chastised for her behavior by an administrator.  Over the subsequent five years, Hively was not granted full time status (despite multiple applications) and she was eventually let go in 2014.  Hively brought suit against the school herself and claimed she was "blocked from fulltime employment without just cause" because of her sexual preference.

With the Court of Appeals issuing its opinion yesterday, the case will now go back to the United States District Court in the Northern District of Indiana, which had previously ruled in favor of Ivy Tech and dismissed Hively's case.  An attorney for Ivy Tech indicated the school will not seek Supreme Court review of the Seventh Circuit decision and will instead defend against the suit in district court.  For the time being, this case proceeds along to an eventual trial.  However, with a split among circuits on how to apply Title VII to these types of cases, it is possible (and likely) that a case addressing the scope of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in regard to sexual orientation discrimination claims brought by LGBT employees will eventually make its way to the Supreme Court.


 

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