By Beth M. Rivers In a groundbreaking decision, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation violates federal civil rights law. In Hively v Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, 853 F3d 339 (7th Cir 2017) the court found that such discrimination is a form of sex discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the federal law which prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin and religion. This is the first time that a federal court of appeals had reached this conclusion and could potentially change the national and local landscape of employment law for LGBT people. Although courts have been reluctant to expand the protections of Title VII and the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation claims, some Michigan and federal courts have used a gender-stereotyping theory to litigate claims of sexual orientation discrimination. However, the EEOC has recognized sexual orientation as a protected class since 2015 and has successfully pursued charges of sex discrimination based on sexual orientation. Now a court of appeals have also recognized the validity of such a claim. In Hively the plaintiff sued her employer arguing that the school violated Title VII when it denied her full-time employment and promotions after she had been seen kissing her then-girlfriend. In its decision, the Court of Appeals concluded that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation constitutes impermissible discrimination on the basis of sex – which is one of the specifically protected categories under Title VII. In reaching this result, the Court rejected any distinction between sex discrimination based on sexual orientation and sex discrimination based on gender stereotyping noting that while courts have previously “described the line between a gender nonconformity claim and one based on sexual orientation as gossamer thin, we conclude that it does not exist at all.” The Court explained that Hively’s claim is no different than any other gender stereotyping claims brought by women who were rejected for job in traditionally male workplaces, such as fire departments, construction and policing as the employers in those cases were policing the boundaries of what jobs or behaviors they found acceptable for a women. Likewise discrimination based on sexual orientation flows from the premise that all men should date or marry women and that all women should date or marry men. As such, it is precisely the LGBT employee’s sex, i.e. gender, that precipitates discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In short, according to the Court, sexual orientation discrimination is sex discrimination and thefore Hively was permitted to proceed with her claim. While the Hively decision technically only applies to employees in the Seventh Circuit, which includes the states of Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin, this decision along with the position of the EEOC, has established a foothold which hopefully will be followed by additional federal courts and state courts including Michigan.
News, Free Press, Fox 17, AP Cover State UIA Refund Announcement
From the Detroit News
Lansing — The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency made nearly 48,000 false fraud accusations against jobless claimants over a roughly two-year period and is in the process of refunding affected residents more than $20.8...
Pitt Selected as Interim Lead Counsel in Flint Water Suit
From Daily Business Review
Their appointment came Wednesday from U.S. District Judge Judith E. Levy, but South Florida attorney Theodore "Ted" Leopold and Michigan litigator Michael Pitt have already spent thousands of hours on litigation over...
MIRS Quotes Pitt in Flint Federal Suit Court Reversal Coverage
From MIRS
A major hurdle for civil federal Flint water crisis suits was cleared today, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the claims of constitutional violations brought by the plaintiffs in two major suits are not...
Pitt Featured in WJRT 12 in Flint Water Decision Coverage
Flint (WJRT) - (8/1/17) Thousands of people in Flint have joined a class action lawsuit that is trying to compensate them for the pain and suffering that have endured because of high levels of lead in their water.
The two law firms involved...
Free Press Looks at UIA Data Glitch and Cites Lord
From the Detroit Free Press
LANSING — Records obtained by the Free Press point to a major glitch in importing data into a $47-million computer system the Unemployment Insurance Agency used to detect claimant fraud, meaning the system often...
Free Press, News, NLJ, ABC Covers Pitt and Flint Lawsuit Go Ahead
From the Detroit Free Press
The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday reversed a federal judge’s decision to dismiss two lawsuits filed by Flint residents over the contamination of their drinking water, saying parts of the lawsuits can...
Fox 2 Features McGehee, Rivers in Muslim Brose Dispute Story
WARREN, Mich. (WJBK) - Your religion or your job. That's the decision more than a dozen local Muslim-Americans say they were forced to make by their employer.
They kept their faith but lost their jobs.
"They felt disrespected," said attorney...
WWJ, Fox 2, Macomb Daily, Michigan Radio Feature McGehee in Brose Muslim Employee Dispute
DETROIT (WWJ) – The federal government is investigating claims by more than a dozen Muslim men who say they were asked to choose between their job and religion at a local company.
The group of 16 Muslim men say they involuntarily resigned from a...
WSWS Covers UIA Decision and Shares Lord Reaction
A three-judge panel in the Michigan Appeals Court dismissed a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Michigan workers falsely accused of civil fraud in the notorious Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) “robo-fraud” scandal. In the July...
Free Press, News Bloomberg Cover UIA Fraud Decision
From the Detroit News
Lansing — The Michigan Talent Investment Agency is asking district court judges to dismiss 186 bench warrants issued against residents who were accused of unemployment fraud and failed to appear in court to face...
Lord Quoted by Free Press, News, AP, Michigan Radio, Fox 17 in UIA Ruling Coverage
From the Detroit Free Press
LANSING — The Michigan Court of Appeals on Tuesday dismissed a class-action brought by unemployment insurance claimants falsely accused of fraud by a state computer system, saying the lawsuit was filed too...
Metro Times/WWJ TV Story on Markovitz Suit Cites Bonanni
The owner of a pair of iconic Detroit strip clubs is being sued in federal court for a second time for allegedly failing to pay dancers and other workers a proper wage.
A class action lawsuit filed early this month says that Alan Markovitz — once...
Legal News Profiles Civil Rights Career of PMP&R Attorney Robin Wagner
With two grandparents as lawyers, and a mother who was an administrative law judge, it was perhaps inevitable Robin Wagner would become a third-generation lawyer—but not until after a career as an associate dean, dean and vice president at several...
Detroit Free Press/News, MLive, Michigan Radio, Feature Lord in UIA Update
[caption id="attachment_1744" align="alignleft" width="300"] PMP&R Attorney Jennifer Lord[/caption]
From the Detroit Free Press
Michigan residents who say the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency has put them through hell sat in a Detroit...
Fox 17 Features Lord in UIA Update Story
MICHIGAN -- A court hearing is scheduled Friday in Detroit for a class-action lawsuit against the Unemployment Insurance Agency. Three judges in the Court of Appeals are tasked with deciding whether the case moves forward. Regardless of the outcome,...
Bonanni Deja Vu Case Receives Top Class Actions Coverage
Parties have reached a settlement resolving wage and hour claims against Déjà Vu nightclubs. Pitt McGehee Palmer & Rivers attorney Megan Bonanni was co-counsel for this Class Action with Jason Thompson and Jesse Young of...
Free Press Covers $6.5m Deja Vu Class Action Featuring Bonanni
A federal judge in Detroit on Monday overruled objections filed by several exotic dancers and approved a $6.5-million national settlement of a class action brought against the Déjà Vu chain of strip clubs, alleging unfair labor...
Lord Featured in Free Press UIA Story Questioning State's Ability to Admit Wrong
The most perplexing part about any of the lawsuits seeking redress against the State of Michigan for really screwing up the lives of hardworking, taxpaying residents, is why they're necessary in the first place.
An automated system put in place...
Legal News Covers Robin Wagner's Arrival at PMP&R
From the Legal News
Robin Wagner has joined Royal Oak, Mich. law firm Pitt McGehee Palmer & Rivers. The announcement was made by firm co-founding partner Cary McGehee.
“We’re pleased to announce that Robin has joined our law firm,” said...
MLive: PMP&R Led Flint Legal Team Demands Snyder Restore Water Subsidies
FLINT, MI -- A group of attorneys involved in civil litigation over the Flint water crisis is asking Gov. Rick Snyder to restore subsidies for Flint water customers until tap water is "safe and untainted."
"We speak on behalf of our clients, who...