Category Archives: Discrimination
What Is a Hostile Work Environment Under California Anti-Discrimination Laws?
Harassment in the workplace might seem like a harmless act, but this type of discrimination can be devastating. Not only can harassment lead to anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, and other harmful reactions, but it can also create an overall harmful environment that can make working difficult. A recent California state trial proves that the state has contradictory laws regarding harassment and hostile work environments. What Happened in This California State Court Decision? In Terris v. County of Santa Barbara, California’s intermediate appellate state court ruled that an employee living in the county failed to demonstrate that discriminatory remarks about the LGBTQ community made by her former employer’s CEO were connected to her job termination. The court upheld summary judgment in favor of the employer and against the former employee in her attempted wrongful termination suit. The employee and thirty others had been terminated because of budget shortages, but the former…
Read More »
SCOTUS Refuses to Hear LGBT Discrimination Case
The Supreme Court of the United States recently declined to hear an appeal by a Georgia security guard who claimed she was harassed and wrongfully terminated from her job due to her sexual orientation. The refusal to hear her appeal means that a decision regarding whether federal laws that ban gender-based bias also cover sexual orientation discrimination will be pushed further into the future. In refusing to hear the appeal, the Supreme Court left in place a lower court’s ruling against the employee, Jameka Evans. Evans sued her employer in 2015, claiming a variety of discriminatory behaviors. She said that her employer attempted to force her out because she did not conform to female gender stereotypes. She also claimed that a supervisor asked detailed questions about her relationships, promoted a junior employee over her and physically assaulted her with a door. Does Title VI Protect LGBT Employees from Discrimination? The…
Read More »
These Employment Cases Could End Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Is it illegal to discriminate against employees for their sexual orientation in the United States? Different Circuits; Different Rulings The question of sexual orientation discrimination has been answered different ways by different circuit courts. On April 4, 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Title VII prohibits sexual orientation discrimination, the first appellate court to rule in this way. The court’s reasoning was that treating people differently due to their orientation is tantamount to gender stereotyping, which has been prohibited in the workplace since the Price Waterhouse, Inc. v. Hopkins ruling back in 1989. The Eleventh Circuit, however, ruled differently in the case of Evans v. Georgia Regional Hospital. That case is still making its way through the appellate system. Another case under appeal, Zarda v. Altitude Express, came about after an appellant sued his employer for alleged sexual orientation discrimination. The Second Circuit has agreed to review…
Read More »
Posted in Discrimination
Tagged employment discrimination, Equality, EqualRights, GenderDiscrimination
Leave a comment
Call Today 
9255 Sunset Boulevard
