Second Circuit Rules Sex Discrimination Covers Sexual Orientation Discrimination

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that when an employer discriminates against an employee because that employee is gay or lesbian, that employer had discriminated "on the basis of sex" in violation of Title VII.  Because Title IX contains a similar sex-discrimination provision, it is virtually certain that lower courts in this jurisdiction will apply the same reasoning in Title IX cases as well.

The case before the court began when a now-deceased parachute instructor was fired from his job for what he believed was the employer's anti-gay bias. A lower court dismissed his claim that this discrimination was covered under Title VII, citing older Second Circuit precedent holding that sexual orientation discrimination and sex discrimination are categorically distinct. The plaintiff's estate appealed, however, hoping to get the Second Circuit to join the recent, emerging recognition by the EEOC and some courts that an employer who is biased against an employee's sexual orientation is necessarily taking that person's sex into account. Taking a gay man for instance, discrimination motivated by his sexual orientation necessarily takes his status as a man into account, since a woman who is attracted to men is not targeted for similar discrimination. Relatedly, the already-settled application of Title VII to discrimination motivated by the employee's failure to conform to sex stereotypes implicates sexual orientation discrimination as well, since a gay man fails to conform to the stereotypes that men are attracted to women. Finally, discrimination against a gay man is associational sex discrimination, in the sense that it targets him for his (romantic) associations with men but not women.  In making these points, the Second Circuit expressly refuted counter arguments raised by the Department of Justice, which filed an amicus brief in the case. The court remanded the plaintiff's Title VII claim back to the lower court where it should be reinstated.

The Second Circuit joins the Seventh Circuit, whose similar ruling last year was also noted on this blog, as the second appellate-level court to interpret Title VII (and by extension Title IX) in this broad manner (some lower courts have as well, including in the Title IX case against Pepperdine). The Second Circuit covers New York, Connecticut, and Vermont, while the Seventh includes  Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. In these states, therefore, there is clear federal law that prohibits sexual orientation discrimination by employers regulated by Title VII and schools subject to Title IX. Additionally, the persuasive power of these rulings from two influential circuit courts will likely persuade federal courts in other states as well.