City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JUNE 17, 2019
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JOANNA C. ANDERSON, CITY ATTORNEY /s/
MARK JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
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Consideration of the City Council's support on an amicus brief for three cases to be heard by the US Supreme Court involving how Title VII's ban on workplace sex discrimination protects LGBTQ people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity
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ISSUE: The US Supreme Court is reviewing three cases, R.G.& G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. EEOC & Aimee Stephens; Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda; and Bostock v. Clayton County, involving how the ban on workplace sex discrimination in Title VII of the US Constitution protects those in the LGBTQ community. The City has been approached to sign on to an amicus brief in support of employment nondiscrimination protections for the LGBTQ community.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council direct the City Attorney to sign on to this local government amicus brief to emphasize the City's commitment to employment nondiscrimination and support of the LGBTQ community.
DISCUSSION: The US Supreme Court will be reviewing these cases after the lower courts in R.G. & G.R. Harris and Zarda held that it constituted illegal discrimination under Title VII to terminate an employee for being transgender (R.G. & G.R. Harris) and based upon their sexual orientation (Zarda). In the third case, Bostock, the lower court held that the plaintiff could not maintain a discrimination cause of action because Title VII did not prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. This amicus brief, in support of upholding R.G. & G.R. Harris and Zarda, and overturning Bostock, has been prepared by a coalition of local government jurisdictions including the City of Los Angeles and the County of Santa Clara. A summary o...
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