ARTICLE
8 December 2020

EEOC Settles "Transgender Funeral Director" Case

CB
Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Contributor

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP
I have written many, many, many, many times about the transgender funeral director who was terminated from her job after she told the owner that she would begin presenting as a female.
United States Employment and HR
To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com.

I have written many, many, many, many times about the transgender funeral director who was terminated from her job after she told the owner that she would begin presenting as a female.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the Detroit-area funeral home for sex discrimination under Title VII. The funeral home won summary judgment, but that decision was reversed on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Then the funeral home petitioned for review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Court agreed to review the case, and -- as we all know -- ruled 6-3 this past summer that Title VII prohibits discrimination based on gender identity. (The Court also ruled that Title VII prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation.)

About a month before her Supreme Court win, Aimee Stephens died, but her widow carried on the fight.

This week, the EEOC and the funeral home agreed to a settlement of $250,000. According to a report in The Detroit News, $130,000 of that amount will go to Ms. Stephens' estate, and $120,000 will go to the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Ms. Stephens.

The sexual orientation case -- Bostock v. Clayton County (Georgia) -- is still being litigated.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.

ARTICLE
8 December 2020

EEOC Settles "Transgender Funeral Director" Case

United States Employment and HR

Contributor

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP
See More Popular Content From

Mondaq uses cookies on this website. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies as set out in our Privacy Policy.

Learn More