The Supreme Court’s LGBTQ Decision: What Does It Mean for Employers?

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court decided, on June 15, 2020, that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects homosexuality and transgender status from employment discrimination. Other decisions, issued on July 8th, elaborate on an exception from Title VII and similar laws for religious employers. The first decision affords Federal protection to issues important to the LGBTQ communities, already protected in many states’ laws and city ordinances, while the July 8th decisions except many employees in religious entities (for example, teachers in parochial schools) from such claims and recognize that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and its implementing regulations protect closely-held employers with sincere religious objections from some statutory mandates. Understand what these decisions mean for your organization and what it can do to protect itself from the risks and costs associated with LGBTQ discrimination claims.

In this session, you will:

• Discuss tips on handling LGBTQ internal complaints and minimizing workforce disruption
• Understand comparator analysis in the LGBTQ context
• Consider conflicts between LGBTQ claims and coworker or employer religious convictions protected by the First Amendment, RFRA, and Title VII accommodation obligations