By: Ogletree Deakins

Title VII

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Under Title VII, an unlawful employment practice is established when an employee demonstrates that gender is a motivating factor for an adverse employment action. Under that analysis, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the Title VII claims of a female hotel desk clerk who was fired after a company decision-maker complained that…

A former editorial writer for the Indianapolis Star who claimed that she lost her job because of her “traditional” Christian beliefs regarding homosexuality was unable to support claims of religious discrimination under Title VII, because she could not show that she met the legitimate business expectations of her employer. Patterson v. Indiana Newspapers, Inc., 7th…

In an unpublished opinion, the 3d U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reminded employers of the importance of acting consistently with written policies, and of documenting that action. Coleman v. Blockbuster, Inc., 3d Circ., No. 08-4056, November 17, 2009. In that case, the Court upheld summary judgment in favor of an employer on the basis…

Congress has repeatedly rejected legislation that would extend Title VII protection to claims of sexual orientation discrimination. However, under Title VII, an employee may raise a claim of gender discrimination if that individual can demonstrate that an harasser was acting to punish the employee’s noncompliance with gender stereotypes. The 3d U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals…

The basis of an employer’s liability for a claim of hostile work environment under Title VII depends upon whether the harasser is the complainant’s supervisor or merely a co-worker. When a hostile work environment is created by a co-worker, the employer is liable only if the employer failed to provide an avenue for reporting the…

Recently, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed a company’s testing and interview procedure for new hires, and decided that certain subjective hiring criteria did not necessarily create a mechanism for excluding female applicants. That review occurred in the context of a lawsuit brought by a female applicant who alleged gender discrimination when the…

In 2007, during a nationwide upsurge in pregnancy discrimination claims, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) released a set of guidelines advising employers on issues related to caregiver bias. On April 22, 2009, the EEOC further supplemented those guidelines with specific recommendations designed, it said, to help employers to “reduce the chance of EEO violations…

Sharon Sybrandt was fired from her position as an Operations Assistant Manager at one of Home Depot’s Nashville stores after she allowed a co-worker to use her password-protected user ID to modify a special order transaction for Sybrandt. In addition, Sybrandt herself subsequently entered computerized “notes” on the transaction, indicating that she wanted to cancel…

Title VII does not include “care-giver” as a separate category for purposes of protection against discrimination. However, in a decision involving the failure to promote a woman with four young children, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reminded us that one important premise of Title VII’s gender discrimination provision is that “women have…