On July 15, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ruled that sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace is unlawful under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The agency stated that although Title VII does not explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, doing so falls under “sex discrimination,” which the law expressly bans.
The U.S. Supreme Court broadened the definition of sex discrimination in 1989, stating that it would be unlawful to make an employment decision based on whether a person acted like their own gender. The agency used this case to justify protecting homosexual employees, stating that to act on the basis of an employee’s sexual preference is equal to acting on the basis of an employee failing to express their own gender.
The EEOC’s ruling prevents employers from making any employment decisions based upon the fact that an employee is in a same-sex relationship, or prefers to be in one. Although 22 states, including New York and New Jersey, already have similar laws in effect, employers in the remaining states will be subject to this new federal law. The ruling is not necessarily binding on federal courts, but the courts often give deference to agency opinions.