In another potential landmark sexual orientation discrimination case, attorneys for a Georgia woman who claims she was fired because of her sexual orientation have filed suit with the U.S. Supreme Court.
The case, Evans v. Georgia Regional Hospital, lost on appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh District, which cited a binding 1979 circuit precedent that said “discharge because of homosexuality is not prohibited by Tile VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964”.
The federal law prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, but it does not go so far as to include sex discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. This, of course, has created some amount of hubbub in courts across the nation whose interpretation of the law varies.
Take, for example, a far different conclusion in a similar discrimination case heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit earlier this year. The court broke ranks when it ruled in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College that an employee who was fired for alleged sex discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation could in fact sue under Title VII, thus creating a potential chasm at the circuit court level which has now been realized.
The split that has unfolded between the two courts on the issue of sex discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation under Title VII has predictably landed the issue on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court for a resolution. It is unclear if they will accept the appeal.
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If your Iowa employer has discriminated against you on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, and religion or other protected classes, it is important to contact an experienced employment discrimination lawyer to fight for your rights. Contact the Iowa sexual orientation discrimination Employment Law offices of Marc Humphrey, for help if you have suffered discrimination, retaliation or wrongful termination in your Iowa workplace. Call us today for a free and confidential consultation at (515) 331-3510 or email us through our website for immediate assistance.
