In 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) identified coverage of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals under Title VII as a top enforcement priority. Although these groups are not enumerated protected classes under Title VII, the EEOC has taken the position that the “sex discrimination” portion of Title VII prohibits employers from firing employees because they do not behave according to the employer’s stereotypes of how men and women should act. According to the EEOC, discrimination against transgender employees because of their gender identity or because they have transitioned or intend to transition is sex discrimination in violation of Title VII.
On September 25, 2014, the EEOC filed lawsuits in two different states alleging that transgender employees were illegally terminated. In one lawsuit filed in Florida, the EEOC alleges that managers and employees of the Defendant employer ridiculed an employee after she informed the company that she was transgender. After the employee told the company that she would begin presenting herself as a woman, her employment was terminated. In another lawsuit filed in Michigan, the EEOC alleges that an employee was fired two weeks after informing the company that she intended to undergo surgery to transition to a woman.
The ultimate outcome of these suits remains to be seen. These cases serve as a stern warning to employers to refrain from terminating an employee because of his or her gender identity. Although transgender is not a protected class under Title VII, the EEOC views discriminatory action against transgender employees as actionable under this law.