The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled yesterday that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits sexual orientation discrimination as part of its ban on sex discrimination in employment. In their decision on Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College, the 8-3 majority rejected core arguments made in an anti-transgender 1984 precedent of that court, Ulane v. Eastern Airlines.
NCTE Executive Director Mara Keisling said in response, “We applaud this careful and correct decision, which brings us closer to fully recognizing the protection that our sex discrimination laws give to all LGBT Americans. The same bogus arguments rejected by the Seventh Circuit today are still being used to defend anti-transgender discrimination as well. But the law says what it says: it bars discrimination based on gender-related motives, including against transgender Americans who just want to earn a living or get an education.”
