The Utah Supreme Court ruled on August 1 that a state law authorizing judicial approval of gestational surrogacy contracts was unconstitutional to the extent that it excluded married same-sex couples from being able to enter into an enforceable gestational surrogacy contract. Finding that the offending provision is “severable” from the rest of the statute, the court sent the case back to a trial court for approval of the surrogacy agreement. The case is In re … <Read More>
statutory interpretation
Justice Department Tells 2nd Circuit That Gays Are Not Protected from Discrimination Under Federal Civil Rights Law
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a brief on July 26 with the New York-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, weighing in on the question whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bans discrimination because of sexual orientation. Not surprisingly, the Trump Administration’s answer is “No.”
Title VII lists forbidden grounds for employment discrimination: race or color, religion, sex and national origin. After it went into effect … <Read More>
Landmark Federal Appeals Ruling Holds Sexual Orientation Discrimination Violates Title VII
The full bench of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, based in Chicago, substantially advanced the cause of gay rights on April 4, releasing an unprecedented decision in Kimberly Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College, 2017 WL 1230393, holding that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which applies generally to all employers with fifteen or more employees as well as many federal, state and local government operations, prohibits … <Read More>