Sexual Orientation as a Protected Class
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has been arguably one of the most historic pieces of legislation to shape employment law in modern times. While it offers protection to employees on the basis of race, age, sex, religion, disability, and national origin, it does highly contested, controversial, and present subject in political and social progressive dialogues in recent years. The federal law has not seen much benefit from this activity, but activity has altered change on the state level.
As the country faces transition regarding the topic of sexual orientation, employers are being forced to adopt policies that consider the larger scope of this changing issue. Sexual orientation’s potential status change could affect employers on various levels: from benefits, to discrimination and harassment policies, to training and legal issues. It is at the forefront of current employment law debates and has been gaining more traction as the laws continue to be interpreted in broader senses.
FEDERAL ANTIDISCRIMINATION LAWS AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION Before one can understand the modern scope of sexual orientation as viewed through the law, they must understand the evolvement of laws over the past few decades. In the late 1950s, the debate regarding sexual orientation gained traction in America due to a case involving Frank Kameny. Kameny was fired on the basis of being a gay man, and the Supreme Court rejected his request for a hearing. As a result, demonstrations in support of Kameny began to blossom across the country. In 1975, the Civil Service Commission reversed its policy against gays as a result, and hence a long struggle for equality began (Bauer & Kleiner, 2001). In the interim, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) was passed. As mentioned, it provided broad protection for several protected classes of citizens on the basis of discrimination. This was especially prevalent in employment law. However, a person could still be fired on the
As the country faces transition regarding the topic of sexual orientation, employers are being forced to adopt policies that consider the larger scope of this changing issue. Sexual orientation’s potential status change could affect employers on various levels: from benefits, to discrimination and harassment policies, to training and legal issues. It is at the forefront of current employment law debates and has been gaining more traction as the laws continue to be interpreted in broader senses.
FEDERAL ANTIDISCRIMINATION LAWS AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION Before one can understand the modern scope of sexual orientation as viewed through the law, they must understand the evolvement of laws over the past few decades. In the late 1950s, the debate regarding sexual orientation gained traction in America due to a case involving Frank Kameny. Kameny was fired on the basis of being a gay man, and the Supreme Court rejected his request for a hearing. As a result, demonstrations in support of Kameny began to blossom across the country. In 1975, the Civil Service Commission reversed its policy against gays as a result, and hence a long struggle for equality began (Bauer & Kleiner, 2001). In the interim, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) was passed. As mentioned, it provided broad protection for several protected classes of citizens on the basis of discrimination. This was especially prevalent in employment law. However, a person could still be fired on the
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