Religion is no excuse for workplace discrimination, says US court of appeal
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The US court of Appeal has ruled that religion is no excuse for workplace discrimination after two landmark rulings this week.
The rulings, which saw a transgender worker based in Detroit and a gay man in Missouri fight for their employment after their employers cited religious reasons for terminating their contracts, have seen courts assert that there is no freedom-of-religion exemption to Title VII.
has banned employers form using religion as an excuse to discriminate against LGBT people, says a federal court.
The two motions, which have been discussed this week, interrogated whether employers had the right to discriminate against those who are lesbian, bi, gay or transgender, reports NBC news.
“Discrimination against employees, either because of their failure to conform to sex stereotypes or their transgender and transitioning status, is illegal under Title VII,” Circuit Judge Karen Nelson Moore wrote for the court.
(Mark Makela/Getty Images)
Aimee Stephens, who was fired from her job at a funeral home after coming out as trans to her boss, took her case to the federal court of appeals with the support of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC].
“Discrimination against employees, either because of their failure to conform to sex stereotypes or their transgender and transitioning status, is illegal under Title VII,” Circuit Judge Karen Nelson Moore wrote for the court.
“The unrefuted facts show that the Funeral Home fired Stephens because she refused to abide by her employer’s stereotypical conception of her sex.”
A representative from the ACLU, who argued the case for Stephens, said it is “an exciting and important victory for transgender people and allied communities across the country.”
Another court of appeals case that took place this week has brought a case to caught that one man’s job offer was rescinded due to his sexual orientation.
Mark Horton, who was a healthcare salesman in Missouri, discovered Midwest Geriatric Management reneged on his job offer because he is gay.
Midwest Geriatric Management basically ended my career,” Horton said in a statement.
“I left my previous job to accept a great offer at MGM, a position that I had been recruited for. When MGM rescinded the offer, suddenly I was jobless. I am still trying to put the pieces back together. Being able to be open and bring my whole self to my work has been an asset, and I have the track record to prove it.”
The court ruled that Horton was discriminated against.
