Civic Register
| 2.27.18

Court Rules Civil Rights Law Covers Sexual Orientation

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What’s the story?

  • A federal appeals court in Manhattan has ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects against discrimination based on sexual orientation.

  • Last year, the Trump administration filed a court brief stating that Congress had not intended Title VII to extend to sexual orientation.

Why does it matter?

  • "Sexual orientation discrimination – which is motivated by an employer’s opposition to romantic association between particular sexes – is discrimination based on the employee’s own sex," Judge Robert Katzmann wrote in the 10-3 opinion issued by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

  • Katzmann wrote that even though Congress had not addressed gay bias in Title VII, laws "often go beyond the principal evil to cover reasonably comparable evils."

  • The ruling only applies to the 2nd Circuit Court's jurisdiction, which includes Connecticut, New York, and Vermont.

How’d the lawsuit come about?

  • Donald Zarda, a skydive instructor with Altitude Express, had reassured a nervous female customer not to worry about their close physical contact because he was "100-percent gay." The woman’s boyfriend complained to Altitude Express, who fired Zarda.

  • Zarda died in a base-jumping accident in 2014. But his sister said of the court’s ruling:

"I think this would have meant the world to him. I think he would have been very excited and very encouraged. I feel strongly that in the workplace employees should be evaluated based on their job performance and by their work ethic and never by who they love."

The Justice Department’s response

Devin O’Malley, a DOJ spokesman, said in an emailed statement:

"We remain committed to the fundamental principle that the courts cannot expand the law beyond what Congress provided. The position that the department advocated in this case has been its longstanding position across administrations and remains the law of nine different Courts of Appeals."

What do you think?

Should Congress consider an official expansion of Title VII to include sexual orientation? Hit Take Action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

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(Photo Credit: Dendron / iStock)