Appeals Court: Workers Cannot Be Fired For Sexual Orientation

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has set the stage for a possible Supreme Court battle over LGBT rights in the workplace by ruling 8-3 that civil rights legislation protects gay employees from being fired for their sexual orientation. That decision puts the court at odds with a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta, which last month interpreted Title VII of the Civil Rights Act more narrowly. The Seventh Circuit ruled that Kimberly Hively was looked over for a full-time job at Ivy Tech Community College because she is a lesbian, and that Ivy Tech discriminated against Hively based on her gender. “Hively represents the ultimate case of failure to conform to the female stereotype … she is not heterosexual,” Chief Judge Diane Wood wrote in the opinion. “Hively’s claim is no different from the claims brought by women who were rejected for jobs in traditionally male workplaces, such as fire departments, construction, and policing.” She added: “Any discomfort, disapproval, or job decision based on the fact that the complainant – woman or man – dresses differently, speaks differently, or dates or marries a same-sex partner, is a reaction purely and simply based on sex. That means it falls within Title VII’s prohibition against sex discrimination, if it affects employment in one of the specified ways.” Notably, one of the country’s foremost conservative judges, Frank Easterbrook, joined the decision.