Client Alert - Caution to All Employers: Title VII Confusion Continues
On December 11, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to decide whether Title VII bans employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, leaving in place a pronounced circuit court split on the issue.
In Evans v. Georgia Regional Hospital, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that homosexuality is not a protected category under Title VII. This ruling was in stark contrast to Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, in which the Seventh Circuit Court held that Title VII does prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The plaintiff, Jameka Evans, sought a review from the nation’s high court; however, it declined to resolve the circuit split on this important issue. The controversy also is pending in the Second Circuit Court, which held an en banc rehearing in a similar case on September 26, 2017, but has yet to issue an opinion.