1、CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Federal Agencies Disagree Whether Sexual Orientation Discrimination Is Prohibited by Title VII November 1, 2017 If an employer fires an employee because of sexual orientation, is that a form of unlawful discrim
2、ination “because of sex” under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act? After hearing oral argument on September 26, 2017, in Zarda v. Altitude Express, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Second Circuit), sitting en banc, is poised to address this significant legal question against a
3、backdrop of conflicting views from federal courts of appeals and two federal agencies. While Title VII makes it unlawful to discriminate “because of such individuals race, color, religion, sex, or national origin,” its statutory text does not expressly address “sexual orientation.” In Zarda, the pla
4、intiff argued that Altitude Express violated Title VII when it fired Donald Zarda because of his sexual orientation, after he told a client he was gay. His former employer responded that it fired him because of various complaints by a client. A panel of the Second Circuit held that Zardas Title VII
