2nd Circuit, En Banc, Votes 10-3 That Sexual Orientation Discrimination Violates Federal Employment Discrimination Law

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, with appellate jurisdiction over federal cases from New York, Connecticut and Vermont, ruled on February 26 that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination because of an individual’s sex, also makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate against a person because of his or her sexual orientation.

 

The ruling in Zarda v. Altitude Express, Inc., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS … <Read More>



Sexual Orientation Discrimination Under Title VII in the 2nd Circuit: A Work in Progress


Lecture for Investiture as Robert F. Wagner Professor of Labor and Employment Law


2nd Circuit Panel Rejects Sexual Orientation Discrimination Claim Under Title VII, but Revives Sex-Stereotyping Claim by Gay Man

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, based in Manhattan, has issued a mixed ruling concerning a gay man’s claim that he was sexually harassed in his workplace in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  In a per curiam opinion in Christiansen v. Omnicom Group, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 5278, 2017 WL 1130183, the court ruled on March 27 that plaintiff Matthew Christiansen … <Read More>


Federal Court in NYC Dismisses Sexual Orientation Discrimination Claim under Title VII

In 2000, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, which has appellate jurisdiction over cases in the federal trial courts in New York, rejected the argument that sexual orientation discrimination claims could be dealt with as sex discrimination claims under federal law, but was open to the possibility that a gay litigant who had suffered discrimination because of failure to conform with the employer’s stereotypical views of appropriate gender behavior could pursue … <Read More>


2nd Circuit Revives Transgender Welder’s Discrimination Case Against Ironworkers Union

A unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, reversing the dismissal of a Title VII discrimination claim filed by a transgender welder against his union, ruled that failure to exhaust administrative remedies is not a jurisdictional bar and that the district court incorrectly failed to discern an alternative federal ground for the lawsuit under the National Labor Relations Act.  As such, the district court must reconsider both its decision … <Read More>