Court: Civil Rights Law Prohibits Discrimination of LGBT
Civil Litigation News
A federal appeals court ruled for the first time Tuesday that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects LGBT employees from workplace discrimination, setting up a likely battle before the Supreme Court as gay rights advocates push to broaden the scope of the 53-year-old law.
The 8-to-3 decision by the full 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago comes just three weeks after a three-judge panel in Atlanta ruled the opposite, saying employers aren't prohibited from discriminating against employees based on sexual orientation.
The 7th Circuit is considered relatively conservative and five of the eight judges in the majority were appointed by Republican presidents, making the finding all the more notable.
The case stems from a lawsuit by Indiana teacher Kimberly Hively alleging that the Ivy Tech Community College in South Bend didn't hire her full time because she is a lesbian.
In an opinion concurring with the majority, Judge Richard Posner wrote that changing norms call for a change in interpretation of the Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin or sex.
Related listings
-
Supreme Court strikes down 2 NC congressional districts
Civil Litigation News 07/26/2017The Supreme Court struck down two congressional districts in North Carolina Monday because race played too large a role in their creation.The justices ruled that Republicans who controlled the state legislature and governor's office in 2011 placed to...
-
Court revives black TV network's discrimination lawsuit
Civil Litigation News 07/23/2017A federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit claiming that a North Carolina city discriminated against an African-American-owned television network.A divided three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday reversed a lower court...
-
High court ruling may give voter rights groups a strong tool
Civil Litigation News 07/13/2017The Supreme Court's ruling that two North Carolina congressional districts relied too heavily on race should give voting-rights advocates a potent tool to fight other electoral maps drawn to give Republicans an advantage in the state.The justices agr...