TITLE VII AND TRANSGENDER EMPLOYEES:
THE TRANSITIONAWAY FROM THE TRADITIONAL CONCEPTS OF SEX DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE ...................................... I. INTRODUCTION II. THE TERM "TRANSGENDER" AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ......
A. B.
Defining "Transgender TransgenderHardships
..... 223 ..... 225
225 .......................... ................................. 226
. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . .. III. TITLE VII-WHAT IS REQUIRED? 228 IV. THE TRADITIONAL APPROACH ......................... 230 V. THE SUPREME COURT'S ASSISTANCE 235 AND THE EXPANSIVE VIEW .................................
A. B. C. D.
Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins ................. ..... 235 Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services ......... ......... 237 The BroadApproach to Sex Discrimination....... ....... 238 TraditionalCourts'Response to Sex Stereotyping .... 240 ....................... and Price Waterhouse ..... 243 ................. VI. DEFINING THE PROPER APPROACH 243 A. Government Shift TowardProtection .................... B. State Law Influences ....................... ..... 245 248 .................................... C ProperAction.. ..... 251 ................................ VII. CONCLUSION
I.
INTRODUCTION
Transgender individuals make up a minority group that faces many employment struggles, even in today's evolving push toward social tolerance and equality.' But Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as it is currently written, does not expressly establish a protected class for transgender employees. 2 As written, Title VII leaves employers-and members of the transgender community-without much guidance as to workplace protection of the transgender class. Some courts have adopted a non-protective position, even in the face of clear, unambiguous discriminatory actions against transgender
See Phyllis Randolph Frye, The International Bill of Gender Rights vs. The Cider 1. House Rules: Transgenders Struggle with the Courts Over What Clothing They Are Allowed to Wear on the Job, Which Restroom They Are Allowed to Use on the Job, Their Right to Marry, and the Very Definition of their Sex, 7 WM. & MARY J. WOMEN & L. 133, 144-45 (2000). 2. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a) (2012).
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