The Dallas Hospitality Employment Lawyer Blog

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (Title VII), does not include "sexual orientation" or "sexual identification" as a protected category.  Employers should know that this fact is a starting point, not an ending point, when it comes to LGBT-related discrimination claims.  Here are six things every employer should know about these types of claims: 1.  The EEOC already recognizes them :  in 2012, the EEOC issued an opinion, binding on other federal agencies, wherein it decided that intentional discrimination against a transgender individual because that person is transgender is, by definition, discrimination based on sex.  http://www.eeoc.gov/decisions/0120120821%20Macy%20v%20DOJ%20ATF.txt . 2.  Sex discrimination based on gender stereotyping is a leading theory to support LGBT-related claims :  more than twenty-five years ago, the United States Supreme Court recognized gender stereotyping as a form of sex discrimination.   See Price Water

Employers now have a more efficient method to manage their charge dockets.  This week, and more than likely in anticipation of an increase in the filing of charges in light of its Strategic Enforcement Plan agenda, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) launched its new, Online Charge Status System, which: allows individuals who have filed charges of discrimination with the EEOC to track the progress of their charge, and provides them with an overview of the steps that charges follow, from intake to resolution;  provides contact information for EEOC staff assigned to the charge; and provides respondents with access to the System to receive and upload documents, and track the status of pending charges. The System cannot be used for charges filed prior to September 2, 2015, or charges filed with state agencies, such as the Texas Workforce Commission, Civil Rights Division.