Federal court dismisses EEOC transgender lawsuit

Dive Brief:

Late last week, a federal judge in Detroit handed the EEOC a courtroom loss in its efforts to protect transgender rights in the workplace, according to the Associated Press.
U.S. District Judge Sean Cox ruled that R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Home didn't discriminate and dismissed a lawsuit filed on behalf of a transgender embalmer, Aimee Stephens, who was fired by the funeral home after telling her employer that she was transitioning from male to female and would start dressing as a woman at work, the AP reported.
According to the AP report, Judge Cox ruled the funeral home met its burden of showing that enforcement of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bars employment discrimination, "would impose a substantial burden on its ability to conduct business in accordance with its sincerely-held religious beliefs." He also concluded the business is entitled to a religious exemption.

Dive Insight:

“We are disappointed with the decision and are reviewing next steps,” EEOC spokesman Justine Lisser told the Washington Post.

The EEOC claimed Stephens had a right not to be subjected to gender stereotypes at work, but Cox said the commission hasn't challenged the funeral home's gender-specific dress code requiring female employees to wear a "skirt-suit" and men to wear a "pants-suit with a neck tie."

"If the compelling interest is truly in eliminating gender stereotypes, the court fails to see why the EEOC couldn't propose a gender-neutral dress code as a reasonable accommodation that would be a less restrictive means of furthering that goal under the facts presented here," Cox wrote in his decision.

In 2014, the EEOC sued both the funeral home and a Florida eye clinic, saying it was the first time it had filed lawsuits to protect transgender people in the workplace. It reached a $150,000 settlement with Lakeland Eye Clinic of Lakeland, Fla.

Employers can expect more EEOC-driven litigation in the quest to enforce Title VII in LGBT workplace discrimination situations in the future, as they have already begun aggressive defenses in other locations. In June, the EEOC levied a $200,000 fine in a sex discrimination action against a Baltimore-area company after a lesbian employee complained about workplace harassment.