Supreme Court to Decide Whether LGBTQ Americans are Protected by Title VII

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The Supreme Court agreed today to hear three cases testing the reach of Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act in protecting LGBTQ Americans from discrimination in employment.

GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) has worked to develop and advance legal arguments that both sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination come within the coverage of “sex” discrimination under Title VII, as in its 2017 case Cote kiện Walmart, which resulted in the largest ever class action settlement on behalf of LGBTQ employees.

GLAD Civil Rights Project Director Mary L. Bonauto issued the following statement:

“The cases that were granted cert today could determine if vital federal workplace protections are affirmed, or are stripped away from millions of LGBTQ people across the country.

“More and more courts as well as thousands of businesses nationally have agreed on the common-sense connection between sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination and sex discrimination. Now the Supreme Court has the chance to clarify this common-sense interpretation explicitly and definitively.

“No one should be at risk of being fired simply because of who they are or who they love. Discrimination in the workplace contributes to higher rates of unemployment and poverty among LGBTQ people, particularly LGBTQ people of color. Nondiscrimination protections are essential to addressing this inequity.

As we continue to work for explicit, comprehensive nondiscrimination statutes protecting LGBTQ people in every area of life, we hope the Supreme Court will take this opportunity to affirm that discrimination against workers because of their identity violates Title VII, is un-American and is simply wrong.”

The cases that will be heard are Altitude Express v. Zarda, Bostock v. Clay County, Georgia, Và R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC and Aimee Stephens.

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LGBTQ families come in many configurations. All of them are worthy of recognition, respect, and protection, especially where children are concerned. Neither financial resources nor the manner in which a family is formed should be a barrier to legal security for kids and parents.

Major gaps remain, however – even in New England – in ensuring that LGBTQ families have easy, equal, and affordable access to parentage protections and particularly gaps in protections for non-biological, unmarried parents.

“We’re pushing policy makers and the courts to catch up with the reality of LGBTQ lives,” says Senior Staff Attorney Polly Crozier. “Our community forms families in many different ways: through marriage, adoption, assisted reproduction, surrogacy. We’re helping core societal institutions catch up with these realities so that people can be secure in their families and be there for each other and depend on each other in every way.”

We’re making meaningful progress on several fronts.

GLAD is currently collaborating to pass comprehensive parentage reform bills in Massachusetts Và Đảo Rhode. The proposed bills are modeled on legislation we worked to pass in Vermont and Maine to ensure that all families–including LGBTQ families–are treated fairly no matter how they are formed.

This legislation spells out clearly who can be a parent, how parentage is established, ensures that state parentage law is fair for LGBTQ families, and gives courts a way to resolve conflicts in parentage, among other provisions. Although the bills are tailored to the needs of each state, a key provision of each is expanding access to a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Parentage (VAP). VAPs are an easily accessible administrative route to establish legal parentage at birth and have both parents listed on a child’s birth certificate. Each state must have a VAP process, and VAPs are accorded full faith and credit throughout the country.

VAPs have been a critical advance for LGBTQ families, and GLAD has been at the forefront of advocating for access to this route to parentage. For instance, in Massachusetts, which has long been a leader in recognizing and protecting our families, same-sex couples could not use VAPs to establish parentage until last August, after GLAD intervened on behalf of two unmarried same-sex couples with children. In both instances, the non-biological mothers had been told by hospital staff that they could not sign VAPs because the paperwork was restricted to opposite-sex couples only as a means of establishing paternity. Following GLAD’s advocacy, the state has updated its VAP forms so that they are now inclusive of all parents.

This is the type of advocacy GLAD will continue to do alongside local lawyers, families, and other advocates to educate lawmakers on these key LGBTQ family protections. We can’t say when these bills will pass, but we’re making sure they are central to conversations about our lives and the law in New England.

Separate from the parentage reform proposals, we are also working to pass bills in Massachusetts and Rhode Island to streamline the co-parent adoption process, which can be expensive, burdensome and inconsistent. GLAD is working with our partners to make it clearer and easier for families to complete co-parent adoptions, particularly in Rhode Island, where courts continue to require home studies and notice to sperm donors – onerous and patently unfair conditions when parents are adopting their own children.

“Family law issues are core to LGBTQ rights, whether we’re talking about equal access to marriage or vital protections for children of LGBTQ parents. GLAD has always led on family law matters, and I’m proud that GLAD continues to be on the forefront of securing such important protections for all families.”

This post comes from the Spring 2019 issue of GLADBriefs, which can be found in entirety đây.

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Today’s event, Day of Silence, is a student-led action to spread awareness about the impact of bullying on LGBTQ youth. By taking a vow of silence, young people embody the erasure and exclusion that many LGBTQ students experience on a daily basis. LGBTQ students face verbal, physical and sexual harassment in higher rates than the general student population. For so many, school is and feels unsafe.

The Massachusetts LGBTQ Youth Commission just issued its annual report and recommendations and the data are stunning. LGBTQ students face almost two times the risk of bullying at school and face over three times the risk of self-harm and suicide then their non-LGBTQ peers.

We all must act to change our schools and make them more inclusive and supportive.

On this Day of Silence, we can take steps to support our youth and send them a clear message — we see you, we value you, and we will fight with you to make schools safer.

I want to suggest two concrete actions we can all take.

First, advocate for policies in schools and school districts that comprehensively affirm and protect LGBTQ students, particularly transgender students. Throughout New England, where GLAD works closely on school issues, the law is clear that schools cannot discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. But each school district and each school should translate those legal protections into a clear policy that is disseminated throughout the community of students, parents, guardians, faculty, staff and administrators to ensure that those legal protections are understood and implemented in our schools. Policies such as the transgender and gender expansive student policy implemented in Portland, Maine, in late 2017 show how districts can affirm and support students through clear, common-sense policies.

Second, work to change state laws about what our youth learn in schools. Having LGBTQ history and experience incorporated into curricula and ensuring that reproductive and sexual health education are affirming are important to creating inclusive environments for all youth in schools. Now pending in Massachusetts, the Healthy Youth Act (H. 410) would ensure that Massachusetts schools with sexual health education classes include affirmative recognition and support for diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. Incorporating these conversations into classes, affirming queer identities in a positive way, and deconstructing societal and media messages are all effective ways to normalize diversity within sexuality and health.

On this Day of Silence, we can take these steps to support our youth and send them a clear message — we see you, we value you, and we will fight with you to make schools safer.

Chính quyền Trump bắt đầu thực thi lệnh cấm người chuyển giới nhập ngũ trong bối cảnh những thách thức pháp lý đang diễn ra

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GLAD cho biết, “Việc chính quyền Trump đã nỗ lực hết sức để được phép thực hiện lệnh cấm vô căn cứ, vô đạo đức và phản Mỹ này quả là đáng xấu hổ.”

NCLR cho biết, “Một quốc gia quay lưng lại với chính những cá nhân sẵn sàng hy sinh để bảo vệ đất nước đã đánh mất đi định hướng đạo đức của mình”

WASHINGTON, DC—Bộ Quốc phòng đã bắt đầu thực thi lệnh cấm người chuyển giới nhập ngũ của chính quyền Trump vào hôm nay, trong khi bốn vụ kiện thách thức chính sách phân biệt đối xử này vẫn đang tiếp tục được đưa ra tòa.

Các luật sư từ GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) và Trung tâm Quốc gia về Quyền của Người đồng tính nữ (NCLR), đại diện cho các quân nhân đang phục vụ, sinh viên trong các chương trình ROTC và học viện quân sự, và những người có nguyện vọng trở thành tân binh trong hai trường hợp, Doe kiện Trump Và Stockman kiện Trump, đã đưa ra các tuyên bố sau:

"Việc chính quyền Trump đã thúc đẩy quá mức để được phép thực hiện lệnh cấm vô căn cứ, vô đạo đức và phản Mỹ này quả là đáng xấu hổ", ông nói. Jennifer Levi, Giám đốc Dự án Quyền của Người chuyển giới GLAD. “Chính quyền đang cố tình đánh lừa công chúng Mỹ và tòa án bằng cách nói rằng vì những người chuyển giới che giấu hoặc che giấu tình trạng chuyển giới của mình có thể phục vụ, nên chính sách này không phải là lệnh cấm. Nhưng không còn nghi ngờ gì nữa: cũng giống như chính sách "Đừng Hỏi, Đừng Nói" đã cấm quân nhân đồng tính nam và đồng tính nữ, thì chính sách này cũng cấm quân nhân chuyển giới. Kể từ hôm nay và cho đến khi chính sách này bị bãi bỏ, người chuyển giới sẽ bị cấm phục vụ, bất kể trình độ và khả năng đáp ứng các tiêu chuẩn quân sự của họ. Chúng ta đã thấy những thiệt hại mà chính sách phân biệt đối xử này gây ra, không chỉ đối với quân nhân chuyển giới và gia đình họ, mà còn đối với chính quân đội.”

“Một đất nước quay lưng lại với chính những cá nhân sẵn sàng hy sinh để bảo vệ đất nước đã đánh mất đi giá trị đạo đức của mình”, ông nói. Shannon Minter, Giám đốc Pháp lý của NCLR. “Bắt đầu từ hôm nay, bất kỳ quân nhân nào công khai là người chuyển giới sẽ phải đối mặt với việc bị sa thải chỉ vì con người thật của họ. Và vào thời điểm mà mọi binh chủng của quân đội đang chật vật để đạt được mục tiêu tuyển quân, họ sẽ buộc phải từ chối những cá nhân đủ tiêu chuẩn, những người chỉ muốn cống hiến tài năng, kỹ năng, và nếu cần thiết là cả mạng sống của mình để phục vụ. Như nhiều quan chức quân đội cấp cao đã thừa nhận, không có lý do gì để biện minh cho lệnh cấm này, vốn được Tổng thống Trump áp đặt lên quân đội vì lý do chính trị, chứ không phải quân sự. Trong khi chúng tôi tiếp tục đấu tranh chống lại chính sách phân biệt đối xử này tại tòa án, chúng tôi cũng kêu gọi Quốc hội thực hiện phần việc của mình để chấm dứt nó càng sớm càng tốt.”

NCLR và GLAD đã ở trung tâm của cuộc chiến pháp lý thách thức lệnh cấm quân nhân chuyển giới của Trump-Pence kể từ khi nộp đơn Doe kiện Trump, vụ kiện đầu tiên trong bốn vụ kiện được đệ trình chống lại lệnh cấm, vào ngày 9 tháng 8 năm 2017.

Các cuộc thăm dò gần đây từ Reuters Và Quinnipiac đã chỉ ra rằng 60% hoặc nhiều hơn người Mỹ đồng ý rằng những người chuyển giới đáp ứng tiêu chuẩn quân sự sẽ có thể công khai phục vụ.

Để biết thêm thông tin về mốc thời gian pháp lý và diễn biến đang diễn ra trong các vụ kiện thách thức lệnh cấm, vui lòng truy cập notransmilitaryban.org.

Rally to #FightTheBan in DC!

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On April 12, 2019, the Trump administration’s discriminatory ban against transgender people serving in the military will go into effect.

Join current and former trans service members, members of Congress, and trans leaders as we call on Congress to pass legislation to stop this harmful ban once and for all.

RSVP here.

GLAD, NCLR on Appeals Court Order Granting Govt’s Motion to Dissolve Injunction in Trans Military Ban Case

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The court of appeals granted the government’s request to issue the mandate, which means the injunction is dissolved, and that, at the moment, there is no legal barrier to the government’s intended plan to start enforcing the transgender military ban on April 12.

We are concerned by the serious harms that the imminent enforcement of the ban is already causing, both to the military and to transgender service members, many of whom are now scrambling to come out and initiate a gender transition before the April 12 deadline in order to be included in the so-called “grandfather” provision. The government’s plan is already wreaking havoc in the lives of dedicated transgender troops who must now face the grim choice of suppressing their identity or leaving military service, to the detriment of their fellow service members and national security.

Today’s ruling only drives home the urgency of continuing to fight this destructive policy, which we will continue to do in the district court.

Follow updates at notransmilitaryban.org

Reintroduction of the Equality Act

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Statement of Janson Wu, Executive Director of GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD)

Whether a person can get and keep a job, rent a home, or access fundamental services should not depend on who they are, who they love – or where they live. It surprises some people to know that millions of LGBTQ Americans still face daunting discrimination every day – in housing, employment, education, and in public accommodations. This is especially heightened for transgender individuals and LGBQ people of color, who are more likely to experience poverty and underemployment, as well as hate crimes and housing discrimination.

Despite great strides forward, the law is still unsettled in practical application from state to state, and no national law explicitly shields LGBTQ people from harm. That’s why we need the Equality Act, introduced today in Congress. It provides clear and consistent protection from discrimination for LGBTQ Americans.

Robust civil rights laws that seek to remedy historic and pervasive discrimination are what help us strive toward becoming a more perfect union. We are at our best when we move steadily toward greater inclusion.

We are grateful to lead sponsors Representative David Ciccilline (D-RI) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), as well as to the legislators from both sides of the aisle who have joined as co-sponsors of the Equality Act. We urge Congress to recognize that this is the year to pass this important non-discrimination legislation.

GLAD, NCLR on DOD Plan to Implement Trump’s Transgender Military Ban

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Move by Trump Administration Violates Court Orders While Injunction in One Lawsuit Against the Ban Remains in Place

Washington, D.C. – GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) released the following statements in response to the Department of Defense’s release today of guidelines for implementing the ban on transgender military service:

Jennifer Levi, GLAD’s Transgender Rights Project director said: “Not only does the Trump-Pence transgender military ban violate the Constitution, but now the administration is also defying a court order. With brazen disregard for the judicial process, the Pentagon is prematurely and illegally rolling out a plan to implement the ban when a court injunction remains in place prohibiting them from doing so.

“In addition to being unlawful, moving forward with this ban is also deeply immoral and deeply insulting to the many transgender troops who are bravely serving their country. If permitted to go into effect, this ban will deprive our military of highly trained and skilled service members, weaken military readiness, and harm national security. Military leaders, medical experts, and the vast majority of the American public agree that our troops deserve gratitude and support, not a slap in the face based on bias and irrational fears.”

“We will continue our fight in the courts until the ban is permanently blocked, said Shannon Minter, NCLR legal director. “We also strongly support the bipartisan efforts of Congressional leaders to pass urgently needed legislation to protect transgender troops. We urge everyone who cares about the integrity of our military and the wellbeing of our troops to contact your representatives and tell them to support this legislation.”

Today’s announcement from DOD disregards the injunction issued by a federal district court in Doe kiện Trump, which remains in effect. On January 4, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion vacating the injunction, but specifically holding that its decision would not become final until plaintiffs have an opportunity to seek rehearing by the entire D.C. Circuit, and until any such petition for rehearing is resolved. Therefore, the district court’s nationwide injunction prohibiting enforcement of the ban remains in effect and any move by the government to enforce the ban before that time is in violation of a federal court order.

Earlier today, GLAD and NCLR filed a ngắn gọn in the D.C. district court opposing the administration’s stated intention to moving forward with implementing the ban.

For more information on the legal timeline and status of the Trump-Pence transgender military ban, please visit notransmilitaryban.org.

Doe kiện Trump: Tòa phúc thẩm DC đưa ra ý kiến bổ sung trong vụ án cấm người chuyển giới nhập ngũ

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Hôm nay, Tòa Phúc thẩm Quận DC đã đưa ra ý kiến của hai thẩm phán trong vụ Doe kiện Trump sau lệnh chưa ký của tòa án vào ngày 4 tháng 1 liên quan đến lệnh cấm sơ bộ trên toàn quốc đã chặn lệnh cấm người chuyển giới nhập ngũ của Trump kể từ tháng 10 năm 2017.

Tuyên bố từ Jennifer Levi, Giám đốc Dự án Quyền của Người chuyển giới của GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD):

Các ý kiến được đưa ra hôm nay từ Thẩm phán Williams và Thẩm phán Wilkins phản ánh sự bất đồng sâu sắc giữa hội đồng về khuôn khổ pháp lý cơ bản chi phối vụ án này.

Thẩm phán Williams sẽ trao cho chính phủ toàn quyền thực thi bất kỳ chính sách quân sự nào mà họ cho là phù hợp - ngay cả chính sách nhắm vào một nhóm người để phân biệt đối xử. Chúng tôi xin phép không đồng ý.

Mặt khác, ý kiến của Thẩm phán Wilkins thừa nhận chính sách quân sự được đề xuất gây khó khăn cho các quân nhân chuyển giới và cho rằng nguyên đơn phải được trao cơ hội nộp bằng chứng để chứng minh rằng kế hoạch của Mattis không đáp ứng được yêu cầu về mặt hiến pháp.

Vấn đề cốt lõi ở đây là phán quyết ngày 4 tháng 1 của tòa án rằng tòa án quận đã không cân nhắc đủ đến các tình tiết mới trong vụ án, bao gồm cả việc ban hành Kế hoạch Mattis vào tháng 3 năm 2018, là phán quyết hạn hẹp.

Các nguyên đơn có 21 ngày để nộp đơn xin tái thẩm lên toàn thể Tòa Phúc thẩm Quận Columbia, và chúng tôi đang cân nhắc kỹ lưỡng các lựa chọn của mình. Hiện tại, lệnh cấm trên toàn quốc cấm lệnh cấm có hiệu lực vẫn còn hiệu lực.

Supreme Court Allows Challenges to Trump’s Transgender Military Ban to Continue in Lower Courts

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GLAD’s Jennifer Levi said: The Trump administration’s cruel obsession with ridding our military of dedicated and capable service members because they happen to be transgender defies reason and cannot survive legal review.

NCLR’s Shannon Minter said: Multiple federal courts have recognized that excluding qualified individuals simply because they are transgender is contrary to basic constitutional principles of equality and fairness.

Washington, D.C.—The Supreme Court today denied the Trump administration’s request that it hear legal challenges to Trump’s transgender military ban this term, allowing the cases to proceed in the lower courts. In a separate order, the Court allowed the ban to go into effect temporarily while the cases against it proceed.

Plaintiffs challenging the ban include transgender men and women serving in all branches of the military, including some who have completed multiple deployments overseas. Plaintiffs also include service academy and ROTC members, as well as individuals seeking to enlist. Equality California is an organizational plaintiff challenging the ban on behalf of its members. Attorneys from GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) represent plaintiffs in two cases challenging the ban, Doe kiện Trump Và Stockman kiện Trump.

“In declining to hear these cases, the Supreme Court saw through the administration’s contrived efforts to gin up a national crisis.” said GLAD Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer Levi. “Unfortunately, the Court’s stay of the lower courts’ preliminary orders means that courageous transgender service members will face discharges while challenges to the ban go forward. The Trump administration’s cruel obsession with ridding our military of dedicated and capable service members because they happen to be transgender defies reason and cannot survive legal review.”

“Our country owes a debt of gratitude to the thousands of transgender people serving in our armed forces,” said Giám đốc pháp lý của NCLR Shannon Minter. “Multiple federal courts have recognized that excluding qualified individuals simply because they are transgender is contrary to basic constitutional principles of equality and fairness. We are confident the courts will ultimately protect the integrity of our nation’s military and hold that transgender service members must be evaluated based on the same standards applied to all others, not barred from service based on a characteristic that has no relevance to their fitness to serve.”

President Trump first announced that he was banning military service by transgender people in July 2017, without consultation with military leadership. Before Trump ordered the ban, transgender people were permitted to serve under a policy that has now been in place for more than two and a half years.

“Thousands of brave transgender troops around the world are currently serving our nation with honor,” said Rick Zbur, Executive Director at Equality California, which brought Stockman kiện Trump on behalf of its members. “Their patriotism and sacrifice should be celebrated, not cruelly dismissed by a president who clearly cares more about delivering on campaign promises than he does about our national security.”

“The Trump Administration’s glaring efforts to deny protections to patriotic Americans seeking to serve our great nation in uniform are just plain wrong,” said Attorney General Becerra. “We will continue to fight to protect the rights of all Americans despite this President’s disregard for equality and the rule of law. This is 2019, not 1920.”

NCLR and GLAD have been at the center of the legal fight challenging the Trump transgender military ban since filing Doe kiện Trump, vụ kiện đầu tiên trong bốn vụ kiện được đệ trình chống lại lệnh cấm, vào ngày 9 tháng 8 năm 2017.

For more information, go to NCLR and GLAD’s website outlining the history and status of the Trump-Pence transgender military ban https://notransmilitaryban.org/.

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Thông qua các vụ kiện chiến lược, vận động chính sách công và giáo dục, Luật sư và Người bảo vệ pháp lý GLBTQ works in New England and nationally to create a just society free of discrimination based on gender identity and expression, HIV status, and sexual orientation. www.GLAD.org

Trung tâm Quốc gia về Quyền của Người đồng tính nữ (NCLR) was the first national LGBTQ legal organization founded by women and brings a fierce, longstanding commitment to racial and economic justice and our community’s most vulnerable. Since 1977, NCLR has been at the forefront of advancing the civil and human rights of LGBTQ people and their families through impact litigation, public policy, and public education. Decades ago, NCLR launched the first LGBTQ Immigration Project, Transgender Rights Project, Youth Project, Elder Law Project, and began working to end conversion therapy through what is now the Born Perfect campaign. www.nclrights.org

Bình đẳng California là tổ chức dân quyền LGBTQ lớn nhất toàn tiểu bang. Chúng tôi mang tiếng nói của cộng đồng LGBTQ và những người ủng hộ đến các thể chế quyền lực ở California và trên khắp Hoa Kỳ, nỗ lực tạo ra một thế giới lành mạnh, công bằng và hoàn toàn bình đẳng cho tất cả mọi người LGBTQ. Chúng tôi thúc đẩy quyền công dân và công lý xã hội bằng cách truyền cảm hứng, vận động và huy động thông qua một phong trào hòa nhập, hoạt động không ngừng nghỉ vì lợi ích của những người chúng tôi phục vụ. www.EQCA.org