Unanimous Supreme Court Backs Woman’s Right to Sue for Sex Discrimination at Work

WASHINGTON D C In a rare display of complete unity the U S Supreme Court ruled unanimously this week to revive a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by a straight woman who claimed she was harassed at work for not conforming to gender stereotypes Unanimous Supreme Court Backs Woman s Right to Sue for Sex Discrimination at Work The decision issued on June gives new life to the lawsuit brought by Carolyn Clark a former New York parks department employee who says she endured years of sexist and homophobic rehabilitation by her lesbian supervisor and colleagues Clark alleged that she was mocked for her appearance called derogatory names and ostracized because she did not fit into her coworkers expectations of how a woman should act Court Clarifies Title VII Protections At the heart of the affair was a key question Does federal law protect workers from discrimination based on failure to conform to gender norms even when both the alleged harasser and the victim are women The answer from the Supreme Court Yes The justices ruled that Clark s declares deserved to be heard in full under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of which prohibits employment discrimination based on sex race religion and national origin Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson writing for the court emphasized that sex-based stereotyping is a form of unlawful discrimination and that workers are protected from such bias regardless of their own sexual orientation or gender identity Development Background Clark initially filed her lawsuit after being fired in She claimed that her supervisor who was openly lesbian created a hostile work setting by repeatedly belittling her for being too feminine criticizing her for talking about her male fianc and suggesting she wasn t tough enough for the job Lower courts dismissed the event suggesting the charges didn t meet the threshold for discrimination under Title VII But the Supreme Court s ruling overturns those decisions sending the incident back to be reconsidered by a lower court Broad Implications Legal experts say the ruling underscores that workplace protections apply equally to all employees and that sex-based stereotyping whether it s targeting LGBTQ individuals or straight employees who don t conform to gender norms is unlawful This occurrence reaffirms that Title VII protects everyone noted Shannon Minter legal director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights No one should face discrimination for failing to act the way others think they should based on their sex