A three judge panel of the Chicago-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit ruled on April 7 that the Brownsburg (Indiana) Community School Corporation did not violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it told a music teacher at the district’s high school that if he refused to comply with the district’s policy regarding names and pronouns for transgender students he should quit or would be fired. Kluge … <Read More>
religious discrimination
Federal Court Upholds Dismissal of Deputy Clerk Who Refused to Process Same-Sex Marriage License
A deputy clerk in Harrison County, Indiana, lost her Title VII challenge to her discharge on December 15, when U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young ruled that she was not privileged by her religious beliefs to refuse to process a marriage license application from a same-sex couple. Incidentally, it was Judge Young who ruled in 2014 that Indiana’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Summers v. Whitis, 2016 WL 7242483, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 173222 … <Read More>
$1.6 Million Damage Award Upheld in New York City Human Rights Religion/Sexual Orientation Case
The N.Y. Appellate Division, 1st Department, in Manhattan upheld an award of $1.6 million damages on a jury verdict rendered under the New York City Human Rights Law to Mirella Salemi, on her discrimination claim against Gloria’s Tribeca, Inc. and its owner, Edward Globokar. Salemi v. Gloria’s Tribeca Inc., 2014 WL 1057328, 2015 N.Y. Slip Op. 01838 (March 20, 2014).
Salemi, identified in various media sources but not in the court’s opinion as a lesbian, … <Read More>