Ruling on pretrial motions in a case brought by the estate of a student who committed suicide after allegedly suffering severe harassment from fellow students at a public school, Chief U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby (N.D.N.Y.) allowed the plaintiff to amend the complaint to add a Title IX cause of action for sex discrimination by an educational institution, based on the homophobic nature of slurs aimed at the decedent in Estate of D.B. v. … <Read More>
sex stereotyping
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>
Federal Magistrate Refuses to Dismiss Gay Pilot’s Title VII Sex Discrimination Claim
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael E. Hegarty refused to dismiss a claim by a gay airline pilot that his former employer discriminated against him in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by misrepresenting the reason for his discharge, thus making him virtually “unemployable” in the industry. Judge Hegarty’s May 11 ruling in Deneffe v. Skywest, Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62019, 2015 WL 2265373 (D. Colo.), appears to mark a further … <Read More>
Is ENDA Necessary? Or Will Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Take Care of LGBT Discrimination
One of the major legislative goals of the LGBT rights movement is to get Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a measure that has been pending in Congress in one form or another since 1996 (with predecessor “gay rights” bills having been introduced since the mid-1970s). ENDA would prohibit employment discrimination because of a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, but would prohibit only intentional discrimination, not employer practices that are neutral … <Read More>