Executive Summary: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not specifically include sexual orientation as one of its protected traits. In July 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for the first time took the position that Title VII protects federal employees from sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace. However, courts have considered this non-binding precedent, instead maintaining that sex-based discrimination does not include sexual orientation β but that could soon change. On October 11, 2016, in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College, South Bend, the Seventh Circuit vacated its own prior ruling that sexual orientation is not protected by Title VII, and granted a motion to have all of the sitting Seventh Circuit judges consider the issue. LGBTQ advocates, Human Resources professionals and employment lawyers should take note and keep their eye on this emerging area of the law.
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