Res. No. 313
Title
Resolution applauding the US Court of Appeals' Second Circuit decision recognizing protections for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming employees from employment discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and denouncing the US Department of Justice's repeated attempts to deny civil rights protections to members of the LGBQ-TGNC community.
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By Council Members Williams and Ayala
Whereas, The civil rights of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, Transgender, and Gender Non-Conforming ("LGBQ-TGNC") community in the United States ("US") have been hard won over more than sixty years, and include sectors of life many non-LGBQ-TGNC identifying individuals take for granted, such as the right to marry; and
Whereas, In Zarda v. Altitude Express, skydiving instructor Donald Zarda filed suit against his employer, Altitude Express, claiming that he was fired due to his sexual orientation, in violation of New York State Human Rights Law and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"); and
Whereas, The US District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that Title VII does not provide discrimination protection for sexual orientation and was upheld by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ("Second Circuit") based on prior case law (Simonton v. Runyon); and
Whereas, Following an appeal, the Second Circuit reviewed the case again, en banc; and
Whereas, The US Department of Justice ("DOJ") unexpectedly submitted a brief as amicus curiae in July, 2017, in support of the lower court ruling, arguing that sexual orientation is not protected under Title VII; and
Whereas, The DOJ argued that the sex discrimination prohibited under Title VII provides narrow protection for disparate treatment of men and women, based solely on gender, not sexual orientation; and
Whereas, The DOJ overlooked the fact that gender stereotyping is necessarily sex discrimina...
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