6th Circuit Court Rules that Title VII Protects Transgendered Employees from Discrimination
Transgendered employees are now protected from discrimination pursuant to Title VII, a federal law prohibiting discrimination against employees. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, which covers Ohio, issued this ruling on March 6, 2018. Joining prior rulings from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and from federal courts across the United States, this decision goes a long way to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual workers. EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes The case involves a former funeral director in Michigan who got fired two weeks after informing her supervisor that she intended to start presenting as a woman at work, as she transitioned from male to female. At the time of her termination, the plaintiff had worked for the family-owned company for nearly six years. Throughout that period, she dressed and presented herself as a man in accordance with her sex at birth. In the course of investigating the plaint...