A recent judicial ruling in the Seventh Circuit found that employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College, a part-time professor alleged that her employer denied her applications for full-time employment and ultimately did not renew her contract because she was lesbian. In the district court, the case was dismissed under the argument that sexual orientation is not a protected class under Title VII. At first the Seventh Circuit court of appeals agreed, but the opinion was vacated. The Circuit Court recognized the employee’s position that sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination.
While this holding is limited to employers in the Seventh Circuit (Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana), employers should think carefully about taking employment actions based on sexual orientation. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has previously held that discrimination against an individual because of that person’s sexual orientation or because that person is transgender is discrimination because of sex and therefore is covered under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.