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Articles Posted in Sexual Orientation

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I’m naturally skeptical when an employee claims sexual orientation bias against straight people.

So when the plaintiff in this federal court decision I read last night cited as evidence of her employer’s heterosexual animus that her gay coworker received a cake and party by gay supervisors on his 30th work anniversary, whereas she did not receive cake or party for the same occasion,…

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In 2015, she sued for LGBT discrimination. One landmark SCOTUS decision later, she still lost.

The former part-time Director of Operations for a college hockey team was sure that her employer fired her because she was gay. Consider the following: During the 2014-15 season, the women’s hockey team had five staff and coaches, all of whom were gay women. The part-time Director of Operations (also…

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My source told me that a federal court has blocked the EEOC’s recent LGBT guidance

Who is my “source”? I got the scoop from EEOC Commissioner Andrea Lucas, who updated us on LinkedIn over the weekend about a Tennessee federal judge who entered this preliminary injunction to stop the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from implementing this technical assistance document issued in June 2021 that…

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Judge, my employer is so biased. They keep promoting me. 😲

That’s effectively the argument the plaintiff, an openly gay man, made in this case. The plaintiff worked as a server at a restaurant. Within a few months, his supervisor spoke to him about taking on a leadership position. (Heavens, no!) But here’s where the plaintiff got rubbed the wrong way.…

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Did a middle school break the law because it allegedly fired a teacher for discussing her pansexuality in class?

Probably not. My Google Alerts were blowing up this weekend with reports of the story: Florida teacher allegedly fired after discussing sexuality with students Florida Teacher Fired for Discussing Sexual Orientation Sparks Debate Teacher Says She Was Fired After Talking to Students About Sexuality Most of the reports I read…

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Everything “employment law” mentioned in last night’s State of the Union Address

In case you missed President Biden’s State of the Union Address last night, I’ve got you covered with everything HR compliance that came up. Pay equity and higher minimum wage. When President Biden took office in January 2021, part of his initial plan was to raise the federal minimum wage…

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Lesbian coach is reinstated after outpouring of support from students, parents, and alums

Henning Schlottmann (User:H-stt), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Over at the FisherBroyles Employment Law Blog, my partner, Amy Epstein Gluck, wrote here about a recent federal court finding that a Catholic school could not avoid discrimination claims after firing a gay teacher from a secular position. Serendipitously, I just…

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Because you asked, I’ve got so many great trans-inclusive resources for you and your workplace today

Danachos, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Thank you for all of the positive feedback and comments both via email and here on LinkedIn following yesterday’s transgender pronoun post. Many of the requests were for additional resources to promote a trans-inclusive workplace. So, last night, I searched the interwebz and…

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One of your employees objects to using transgender co-workers’ personal pronouns. Now what?

Amousey, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Most employees are at-will; they can be fired for any reason or no reason at all. And intentionally misgendering a co-worker would be enough. But, what if the employee objects on religious grounds? 🤔 I may have an answer for you. It comes from this…

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The Supreme Court’s silence on transgender bathroom use may speak volumes for your workplace

Marielam1, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Last year, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Bostock v. Clayton County that an employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender has discriminated based on sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Yesterday, the Supreme Court…