• About Us |
  • Follow Us: 
theinsurance411.com logo

The Insurance 411

What you need to know about insurance

  • Essential Property and Liability Insurance
    • All Property & Liability Topics
    • Business Income Insurance
    • General and Auto Liability
  • Specialized Insurance Policies
    • All Specialized Prop & Liability Topics
    • Credit Risk
    • Cyber Insurance
    • Directors & Officers
    • Employment Practices Liability
    • Environmental Liability
    • Professional Liability
    • Surety
    • The Basics
  • Workers’ Compensation Insurance
    • All Workers’ Comp Topics
    • Claims Management
    • Controlling Costs
    • Loss Prevention
    • Regulations
    • The WC Basics
  • Employee Benefits
    • All Employee Benefit Topics
    • Affordable Care Act – “ObamaCare”
    • Benefits Management & Compliance
    • COBRA
    • Dental Insurance
    • Group Disability Insurance
    • Retirement Plans
    • Vision Plans
    • Voluntary Benefits
  • Essential Property and Liability Insurance
    • All Property & Liability Topics
    • Business Income Insurance
    • General and Auto Liability
  • Specialized Insurance Policies
    • All Specialized Prop & Liability Topics
    • Credit Risk
    • Cyber Insurance
    • Directors & Officers
    • Employment Practices Liability
    • Environmental Liability
    • Professional Liability
    • Surety
    • The Basics
  • Workers’ Compensation Insurance
    • All Workers’ Comp Topics
    • Claims Management
    • Controlling Costs
    • Loss Prevention
    • Regulations
    • The WC Basics
  • Employee Benefits
    • All Employee Benefit Topics
    • Affordable Care Act – “ObamaCare”
    • Benefits Management & Compliance
    • COBRA
    • Dental Insurance
    • Group Disability Insurance
    • Retirement Plans
    • Vision Plans
    • Voluntary Benefits
Top Business 411 Stories
  • | How to Get Sued By Your Employees in 10 Easy Steps
  • | Marijuana and Workers Compensation
  • | How Do Your Healthcare Providers Rate?
  • | Employee Dental Insurance for Every Budget

Title VII Non-discrimination Protections Apply to LBGTQ Individuals

August 24, 2015 by The Insurance 411Leave a Comment

VGBT

The EEOC has concluded “sexual orientation is inherently a ‘sex-based consideration’

The EEOC has concluded “sexual orientation is inherently a ‘sex-based consideration’ and an allegation of discrimination based on sexual orientation is necessarily an allegation of sex discrimination under Title VII.” Translation: Title VII nondiscrimination protections apply to people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.

No federal law expressly bars discrimination against people for their sexual orientation. In 2012, however, the EEOC’s Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP), adopted by a bipartisan vote, lists “coverage of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals under Title VII’s sex discrimination provisions, as they may apply” as an enforcement priority for Fiscal Years 2013-2016. Since then, the agency has begun to file LGBT-related lawsuits under Title VII challenging alleged sex discrimination.

Earlier this year, in a claim filed by an unnamed homosexual man against the Federal Aviation Administration, the EEOC interpreted Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to apply to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The complainant had worked as an air traffic control specialist. He alleged he was not considered for a promotion because of his sexual orientation, and provided examples of disparaging comments his supervisor had made in his claim to the EEOC.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states:

It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer –

  1. to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or
  2. to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

The EEOC concluded “sexual orientation is inherently a ‘sex-based consideration’ and an allegation of discrimination based on sexual orientation is necessarily an allegation of sex discrimination under Title VII.” It said:

[T]he question is not whether sexual orientation is explicitly listed in Title VII as a prohibited basis for employment actions. It is not. Rather, the question…[is]…whether the …[employer]…has “relied on sex-based considerations” or “take[n] gender into account” when taking the challenged employment action.

Implications for Employers

Federal laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability and genetic information, as well as retaliation for protected activity, apply to most employers with at least 15 employees (20 employees in age discrimination cases). Most labor unions and employment agencies are also covered. The laws apply to all types of work situations, including hiring, firing, promotions, harassment, training, wages and benefits.

The EEOC, which has responsibility for enforcing these laws, has become more aggressive in filing LGBT-related lawsuits under Title VII. To avoid charges of sex discrimination, an employer must avoid discriminating against employees or applicants because they do not conform to traditional gender stereotypes. For example, it is illegal for an employer to deny employment opportunities or permit harassment because:

  • a woman does not dress or talk in a feminine manner.
  • a man dresses in an effeminate manner or enjoys a pastime (like crocheting) that is associated with women.
  • a female employee dates women instead of men.
  • a male employee plans to marry a man.
  • an employee transitions from female to male or male to female.

Federal nondiscrimination law aims to put victims of discrimination in the same position (or nearly the same) that they would have been in if the discrimination had never occurred. Types of relief can include:

  • Placement in the job and/or back pay and benefits
  • Attorney’s fees, expert witness fees and court costs
  • Compensatory damages, to cover victim’s out-of-pocket costs and to compensate them for emotional harm
  • Punitive damages, if the employer has committed an especially malicious or reckless act of discrimination.

How much a sex discrimination case can cost you depends on the size of your organization.

  • Employers with 15-100 employees can pay up to $50,000.
  • Employers with 101-200 employees can pay up to $100,000.
  • Employers with 201-500 employees can pay up to $200,000.
  • Employers with 500+ employees can pay up to $300,000.

To avoid claims of sexual orientation discrimination, employers should examine their hiring practices, employment policies and manuals, benefits packages and benefits statements for any discriminatory practices or wording. Training managers and supervisors to be sensitive to matters of sex discrimination can also help.

Filed Under: Benefits Management & Compliance   •  Employee Benefits   •  Most Popular   •  Recommended Articles

[wp_ad_camp_3]

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Read more ⤵

  • Business Insurance
  • Personal Insurance
  • Newest Business Articles
  • All Business Topics
  • Recommended Articles
    • Ways to Make Childcare Costs a Little More Affordable
    • Self Funding 101 For Employers
    • Weight Discrimination on the Rise
    • Understanding Consumer-Driven Health Plans

The Daily Blog

Directory Ad for 411sidebar

Register for Weekly Business Insurance Article Updates

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Most Popular

  • Ways to Make Childcare Costs a Little More Affordable
  • Title VII Non-discrimination Protections Apply to LBGTQ Individuals
  • Drones in the Workplace
  • Why Stress Is a Work Safety Problem

Attention Insurance Agents

If you are looking for quality insurance content for your own customized newsletter, please visit Smarts Publishing:
https://smartspublishing.com

Business Insurance 411

  • Essential Property and Liability
  • Specialized Policies
  • Workers’ Compensation
  • Employee Benefits

Personal Insurance 411

  • Homeowners Insurance
  • Auto Insurance
  • Life & Health Insurance
  • Personal Insurance Basics

Read More

  • Business 411 Articles
  • Personal 411 Articles
  • Top Stories Business
  • Top Stories Personal

The Daily Blog

  • Newest Business Articles
  • Newest Personal Articles
  • Most Popular Business
  • Most Popular Personal

Copyright ©2019 TheInsurance411.com

  • Home
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us