Articles Discussing Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues In The Workplace.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently ruled that prohibitions against discriminatory employment practices against the LGTBQ+ community under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are inapplicable to religious, private, for-profit companies that possess sincere, religious objections to gender nonconforming conduct.

Michelle Phillips comments on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to not take a case to determine if the Americans with Disabilities Act protects transgender people who experience distress caused by their gender identity not matching their sex assigned at birth in “Gender Dysphoria Poised to Be New Disability Rights Battleground,” published by Bloomberg Law.

Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) constituted an impermissible infringement on its citizens’ First Amendment right to freedom of speech, as the Act could compel individuals and businesses to engage in speech with which they disagree, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 6-3 decision written by Justice Neil Gorsuch. 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, No. 21-476 (June 30, 2023).

Executive Summary: On June 30, 2023, the U. S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. At issue in the case was a pre-enforcement challenge to Colorado’s public accommodation law, which prohibits businesses from engaging in discrimination when selling goods and services, and whether the law violates a graphic designer’s First Amendment protections by requiring her to create wedding websites for same-sex couples. The Court’s majority held that by creating wedding websites, rather than merely selling a simple good or service, the graphic designer is engaging in “pure speech,” and thus compliance with Colorado’s law requiring her to create wedding websites for same-sex marriages, which she professed to have a religious objection to, would violate her free speech rights under the First Amendment.

On June 30, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled a wedding website designer who has religious objections to same-sex marriage may legally refuse to design websites for same-sex couples because the First Amendment prohibits a state from forcing a website designer to create expressive messages with which

Transgender protections and rights in the workplace are currently the subject of much confusion.  This issue extends to employer-sponsored health plans.  Whether an employer-sponsored health plan must cover gender-affirming care is complicated and depends, in part, on whether the employer’s health plan is fully-insured or self-insured. 

Fully-Insured Plans

Fully-insured employer-sponsored

It’s Pride Month, and with key pieces of legislation impacting sexual orientation and gender identity issues pending in Florida, Tennessee, Texas, and before the United States Supreme Court, employers need to understand the employment implications of these bills. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify that, as of April 1, 2023, USCIS will accept the self-identified gender marker for individuals requesting immigration benefits. In other words, the gender marker an individual selects on required USCIS applications,

Second Circuit rejected the appeal of an employee who was fired by a school district for refusing to attend mandatory workplace training about bias based on LGBTQ status, citing conflicts with his religious beliefs. The district court previously found in favor of the employer, noting that the plaintiff

A senior managing director was fired from her job at an integrated financial services boutique after she reported gender discrimination and unequal pay. According to the complaint filed in January 2023, Ann Deaton was a leading financial manager – a “$2 million+ producer” ranked in the top 1% of female

On December 13, 2022, President Joe Biden signed H.R. 8404, known as the Respect for Marriage Act, into law, guaranteeing marriage equality for same-sex and interracial couples under federal law. The law passed both houses of the U.S. Congress with bipartisan support, and the signing took place two weeks after

The U.S. Supreme Court weighed the rights of LGBTQ+ people to be free from discrimination in the marketplace against a Colorado business owner’s right to free speech when it heard oral argument in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (No. 21-476) on December 5, 2022.

On December 5, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in a case on whether a wedding website creator may legally refuse to make websites for same-sex couples based on First Amendment grounds. During the nearly two-and-a-half hour oral arguments in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis,

On November 29, 2022, the U.S. Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act, which would guarantee marriage equality, including for interracial and same-sex couples, under federal law. The bill, H.R. 8404, passed the Senate in a 61-36 vote with bipartisan support. The bill must still be voted on by the