The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed two sex discrimination lawsuits, in which the complainants were discriminated based on their sexual orientation.
The federal agency that enforces civil rights in the workplace brought two separate lawsuits to the court, alleging sex discrimination based on sexual orientation. In the first challenge, the agency alleged Pennsylvania-based Scott Medical Health Center discriminated a gay employee. In a separate lawsuit, it accused Maryland pallet manufacturer, IFCO Systems, of discriminating a lesbian worker.
In the medical center case, the EEOC said that the male employee's manager repeatedly referred to him using various anti-gay epithets and other offensive comments about his sexuality and sex life. The clinic director, after such employee reported the incident, refused to take any actions. The employee quit rather than endure further harassment.
In the IFCO Systems case, the EEOC said the unnamed employee's supervisor made numerous comments regarding her sexual orientation and appearance, such as "I want to turn you back into a woman." Thereafter, the supervisor blew a kiss and circled his tongue at her. The employee was fired few days after she complained.
Such were first of their kind lawsuits to offer civil protections to the LGBT community under existing law, as Congress has steadily refused for several years to take any action.
EEOC General Counsel David Lopez said in a statement, "With the filing of these two suits, EEOC is continuing to solidify its commitment to ensuring that individuals are not discriminated against in workplaces because of their sexual orientation."
The EEOC concluded that sexual orientation is inherently a sex-based consideration and an allegation of discrimination based on sexual orientation is necessarily an allegation of sex discrimination. Moreover, sexual orientation is inseparable from and inescapably linked to sex, therefore, that allegations of sexual orientation discrimination involve sex-based considerations.
As per Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it prohibited discrimination because of sex. Thus, federal law enforcement agency construed such law that harassment and other discrimination because of sexual orientation is prohibited sex discrimination.
Under the jurisprudence, specifically the case of Baldwin v. Foxx, it laid down the instances of the prohibition of sex discrimination based on sexual orientation: (1) sexual orientation discrimination necessarily involves treating workers less favorably because of their sex because sexual orientation as a concept cannot be understood without reference to sex; (2) sexual orientation discrimination is rooted in non-compliance with sex stereotypes and gender norms, and employment decisions based in such stereotypes and norms have long been found to be prohibited sex discrimination under Title VII; and (3) sexual orientation discrimination punishes workers because of their close personal association with members of a particular sex, such as marital and other personal relationships.
