Seyfarth Synopsis: Over the past few weeks, two federal appellate courts have issued major decisions on the scope of workplace discrimination protections covered under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"). In addition to creating a conflict between various past appellate court precedents, these decisions highlight an ideological divide between two major federal government agencies. In this video blog, Associate Alex Karasik and Partner Jerry Maatman of Seyfarth Shaw discuss the importance of these decisions, and what employers can expect to see in the evolving debate over Title VII protections.
On February 26, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit issued an impactful decision in Zarda, et al. v. Altitude Express, d/b/a Skydive Long Island, et al., No. 15-3775 (2d Cir. Feb. 26, 2018), which fueled the debate over protections for sexual orientation under Title VII. The Second Circuit ruled in favor of a (now-deceased) skydiving instructor who claimed to be fired because he was gay, therefore ruling that sexual orientation is a protected category under Title VII.
Then, just last week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") notched a major win when the Sixth Circuit sided with the Commission's position in EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc., Nos. 16-2424 & 2018 (6th Cir. Mar. 7, 2018). We previously blogged about this decision here. This case considered a transgender worker.
These recent appellate court decisions have agreed with the EEOC's position on the definition of sex discrimination under Title VII. However, there is also significant opposition to this position – namely by the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ"). In the Zarda case mentioned above, the EEOC and DOJ both submitted amicus briefs, taking completely opposite sides on this issue. Additionally, the 11th Circuit issued a decision in March of 2017 entitled Evans v. Georgia Reg'l Hosp., No. 15-15234 (11th Cir. Mar. 10, 2017), which sided with the DOJ and a more strict interpretation of the workplace discrimination laws at hand.
In today's video, Jerry and Alex discuss this controversial topic in detail, and provide their own insights on the matter. As Jerry states in the video, what this issue looks to be driving towards is, "a showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court, or the halls of Congress, over the scope and parameters over the protections of Title VII."
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