The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which fields complaints of discrimination based on the protections of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, appears now to be actively pursuing and enforcing claims related to sex discrimination against the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community.

A Feb. 3 memo issued by Nicholas M. Inzeo, director of the Office of Field Programs for the EEOC, states that “Individuals who believe they have been discriminated against because of their sexual orientation should be counseled that they have a right to file a charge with the EEOC, and their charges should be accepted under Title VII and investigated as claims of sex discrimination in light of Commission precedent.”

The memo specifies that the EEOC is interested in “claims related to discriminatory policies; insurance issues including benefits for same-sex couples or transgender individuals; access to facilities based on gender identity.”

Both the EEOC, back in 2012, and Attorney General Eric Holder, two years later, have stated that transgender people are protected by the ban on sex discrimination in Title VII. Holder even calling that interpretation “the best reading” of the law.

The subject of Inzeo’s memo is “Update on Intake and Charge Processing of Title VII Claims of Sex Discrimination Related to LGBT Status.”


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