The U.S. Supreme Court announced on April 22 that it will consider appeals next term in three cases presenting the question whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination because of an individual’s sex, covers claims of discrimination because of sexual orientation or gender identity. Because federal courts tend to follow Title VII precedents when interpreting other federal sex discrimination statutes, such as the Fair Housing Act and Title … <Read More>
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
Supreme Court Receives Two New Certiorari Petitions on Title VII Sexual Orientation Discrimination Claims
At the end of May the Supreme Court had received two new petitions asking it to address the question whether the ban on employment discrimination “because of sex” under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 can be interpreted to apply to claims of discrimination because of sexual orientation.
Altitude Express, the former employer of the late Donald Zarda, a skydiving instructor who claimed he was dismissed because of his sexual orientation in … <Read More>
2nd Circuit Rejects Gay Brazilian Man’s Refugee Claims, Despite Evidence About Anti-Gay Violence in Brazil
Opening up a gulf in reasoning with the 9th Circuit, which has insisted on a distinction between the official policies of a government and the facts on the ground in evaluating whether gay people would suffer persecution or worse in a particular country, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit affirmed a ruling by an Immigration Judge (IJ) and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) that a gay … <Read More>
2nd Circuit Remands CAT Claim by Gay Jamaican Man
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit has remanded to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) for reconsideration a claim for relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) by a gay man from Jamaica who was subject to deportation based on some state law convictions in Connecticut. Walker v. Lynch, 2016 WL 4191844, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 14554 (August 9, 2016). The panel, consisting of Circuit Judges … <Read More>