Man Who Won LGBTQ+ Job Protections Across The US Settles Case With Former Employer
October 19, 2022Gerald Bostock has finally settled his own discrimination lawsuit, according to LGBTQ Nation.
The 2020 historic Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County made anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination illegal in the workplace across the whole US.
Bostock spent over ten years working for Clayton County, Georgia as an advocate for victims of child abuse and neglect. He was fired in 2013, six months after he joined a gay softball league and subsequently endured homophobic comments from colleagues. When he was let go, his employer cited “conduct unbecoming a county employee” as the reason.
Bostock believes his termination was directly related to his sexuality. With two others, Bostock’s case led the Supreme Court to declare that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – which bans workplace discrimination on the basis of sex – applies to LGBTQ+ people.
But Bostock’s personal case against Clayton County was over. Once the Supreme Court declared LGBTQ+ discrimination to be illegal, he then had to go back to court to determine whether or not he was actually the victim of it.
The case was settled on October 5, according to court documents obtained by Law & Crime, though the terms of the settlement are not yet public.
In the wake of Bostock v. Clayton County, President Biden signed two executive orders that said federal agencies should “fully implement” the decision by applying the reasoning that anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination inherently involves sex discrimination.
His actions included Title IX’s protections in education, including being used to protect LGBTQ+ students in court.
Gavin Grimm, a trans activity, won in federal court against a Virginia school district that banned him from the boys’ bathroom. The court said that based on the reasoning in the Bostock case, the school was in violation of Title IX. The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in 2020 that another trans boy, Drew Adams, had to be allowed to use boys’ restrooms.
Another federal judge cited the case when blocking a Trump administration rule that would have made it easier for medical professionals to claim a religious exemption and refuse to treat transgender people.
And this year, out Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D), and the ACLU cited ‘Bostock’ in their case before the Michigan Supreme Court which led to the decision that businesses, landlords, and others cannot discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity, even though the state’s civil rights legislation doesn’t specifically mention those categories.
Read related myGwork articles here:
69% of LGBTQ+ Professionals Concerned About Discrimination Laws When Relocating
Half of all US LGBT+ Employees Have Faced Discrimination at Work
Time To Stamp Out HIV-Related Discrimination And Stigma At Work, Stress DEI And Health Experts
Keep up to date with the latest myGnews