In a landmark ruling on June 15, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that employment discrimination on the basis of an employee’s sexual orientation or gender is illegal. Here are a few key highlights:
- The ruling means equal treatment for LGBTQ employees is now federally mandated.
- If your employment policies don’t currently provide for nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, you should update them to include these categories specifically.
- Addressing this fully in your company policies and sharing this widely with employees provides evidence of your intention to comply with Title VII’s protection of ‘sex’ its ins totality.
- Unlawful discrimination includes harassment based on protected characteristics including sex. You may want to include sexual orientation and transgender status in anti-harassment policies and harassment complaint processing procedures.
