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56th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

July 2, 2020/in Employment

On this day 56 years ago, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, providing workplace, public accommodation, education, & voting protections to children, women, racial and religious minorities. Following the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of slavery, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (declaring African Americans citizens of […]

Supreme Court Declares Sexual Orientation Discrimination Illegal in the Workplace

June 16, 2020/in Employment, Sexual Orientation/Identity

On June 15, 2020, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark decision—in Bostock v. Clayton County—that expanded civil rights workplace protections to members of the LGBT community. For years, countless Americans asked, “Can I be fired for being gay or lesbian?” or “Can I be fired for being transgender?” Prior to this decision, in a majority […]

56th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

July 2, 2020/in Employment

Supreme Court Declares Sexual Orientation Discrimination Illegal in the Workplace

June 16, 2020/in Employment, Sexual Orientation/Identity

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56th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

July 2, 2020/in Employment

Following the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of slavery, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (declaring African Americans citizens of the United States) and the Civil Rights Act of 1875 (banning racial discrimination in places of public accommodation). These sweeping pieces of Reconstruction legislation were an attempt to extend equality under the law to all Americans.

But, in 1883, the U.S Supreme Court stifled these efforts in the Civil Rights Cases, ruling federal law could not ban discrimination in the private sector. This decision allowed discrimination in the workplace to continue, leading to the Jim Crow segregation era.

In addition to extending protections against discrimination and retaliation in the workplace, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 reversed that Supreme Court precedent from the Reconstruction Era.

Because of the 1964 Act, every American has workplace protections against discrimination and retaliation, among other things.

If you feel like you’ve been discriminated or retaliation against, we are here to help. Our firm, Teske, Katz, Kitzer & Rochel, represents employees facing discrimination and retaliation in the workplace.

Abou B. Amara, Jr., Attorney

Supreme Court Declares Sexual Orientation Discrimination Illegal in the Workplace

June 16, 2020/in Employment, Sexual Orientation/Identity

On June 15, 2020, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark decision—in Bostock v. Clayton County—that expanded civil rights workplace protections to members of the LGBT community.

For years, countless Americans asked, “Can I be fired for being gay or lesbian?” or “Can I be fired for being transgender?” Prior to this decision, in a majority of states, the answer to those questions was yes. Employers were legally able to fire someone based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The central question the Court considered was whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s prohibition of discrimination “on the basis of … sex” included sexual orientation and gender identity. In response to this question, Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch said, “the answer is clear.”

In the Court’s 6-3 opinion, Justice Gorsuch stated “[a]n employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.”

The Court’s decision in Bostock will immediately provide federal protection to more than one million LGBT employees across the Nation, ensuring that they have recourse if their employer discriminates or retaliates against them based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Because of this decision, members of the LGBT community now have federal protection against workplace discrimination in all 50 states.

If you are an employee who has believes you have been discriminated or retaliated against based on your sexual orientation and/or gender identity, we are here to help. Please contact Teske, Katz, Kitzer, and Rochel, PLLP. We advocate on behalf of employees facing discrimination, retaliation, and whistleblower related issues in the workplace.

Abou B. Amara, Jr., Attorney

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