Roberta's Back: Transgenderism in the Workplace Revisited
A recent case before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (covering Alabama, Florida, and Georgia) gives us additional insight into how courts view and address gender identity issues.
11th Circuit Rules for Transgender Employee in Sex Discrimination Case
The typically conservative Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently found in favor of a transgender employee claiming sex discrimination when her employer fired her after she announced plans to undergo a gender transition. The Georgia General Assembly's Office of Legislative Counsel (OLC) hired Plaintiff Vandiver Elizabeth Glenn in 2005 as an editor.1 At that time, Glenn presented as a man named Glenn Morrison. Approximately one year into her employment with the OLC, Glenn told her supervisor that she was a transsexual and came dressed to the office's Halloween party as a woman. In 2007, Glenn announced she would be transitioning from a male to a female. For Glenn, this meant she would be coming to the office dressed as a woman and would legally adopt a female name. Following this announcement, the head of the OLC, Brumby terminated Glenn's employment.2
11th Circuit Rules for Transgender Employee in Sex Discrimination Case
The typically conservative Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently found in favor of a transgender employee claiming sex discrimination when her employer fired her after she announced plans to undergo a gender transition. The Georgia General Assembly's Office of Legislative Counsel (OLC) hired Plaintiff Vandiver Elizabeth Glenn in 2005 as an editor.
Transgender Employee Fired by Government Employer Is Protected Under Federal Law
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a transgendered government employee was entitled to protection under the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution and could not be fired because of his or her gender non-conformity unless the government employer could demonstrate a “sufficiently important governmental purpose.” Glenn v. Brumby, Nos. 10-14833 and 10-15015, Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (December 6, 2011).
Alleged comments by HR director sufficient to defeat company's motion for summary judgment.
Remarks by a law firm’s human resources director could be “direct evidence” of pregnancy discrimination and violation of the FMLA, according to the 7th U.S. District Court of Appeals. According to the court, such evidence falls outside of the “hearsay” objection that might otherwise keep it from being presented to a jury. Makowski v. SmithAmundsen LLC, 7th Cir., No. 10-3330, November 9, 2011.
Why do we hate us? Women prefer working for men, study says
I shouldn't touch this poll with a 10-foot pole, but I just can't help myself.
Limited Seating: Mixed Results on Efforts to Include More Women at the Corporate Board Table
Fortune Magazine's annual Most Powerful Women list arrived on newsstands last week. With it comes inevitable chatter from the business press about who is in and who is out, who moved up a few notches and who has been knocked down a few pegs. And yet, perhaps what is most striking about the list is not the jockeying among the boldface names. Rather, it is the fact that even amid a lingering financial crisis that has highlighted poor governance and the scarcity of senior women at big corporations, the total number of women CEOs in the Fortune 500 is only 15, up from just two when the list debuted in 1998.
Maternity leave, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and summary judgment
Let's play claim or no claim. Employee gives birth. She is terminated while on maternity leave. She sues under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
'Masculine Norms': Why Working Women Find It Hard to Reach the Top
Women have been in the workforce for decades, but many will acknowledge that it is still a man's world. According to the most recent data from Catalyst Research, women now make up nearly half (46.7%) of America's workforce and hold 51.5% of management, professional and related occupations. Yet only 7.6% of the Fortune 500 top earners are women, and women make up only 2.6% of Fortune 500 CEOs. Many women say the corner office remains off-limits because the unwritten rules of the workplace continue to favor men.
Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, And Equal Pay Act Claims Are Everywhere
Because of recent high-profile cases claiming gender-based pay discrimination, the Equal Pay Act has taken on a new life. Newspapers continue to tout the controversial statistic that women earn only 77 cents for each dollar men earn. That statistic does not distinguish among jobs and is actually a comparison of apples to oranges, argue critics. Nevertheless, there are certainly situations where women on average are paid less than similarly-situated men. The fact that retail giant Wal-Mart is the defendant in the first major case of this kind in many years has placed all retailers in the crosshairs of the wage and hour plaintiffs' bar.
