The EEOC Finds Discrimination On The Basis Of Gender Identity (Against A Transgender Individual) A Viable Claim Under Title VII

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Date: 09 May 2012

In what is reported to be a landmark decision, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), in Macy v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, found for the first time that discrimination against transgender individuals constitutes sex discrimination in violation of Title VII. While not the first case to explore the notion that Title VII prohibits discrimination based upon gender identity and stereotypes, it is the first decision by the EEOC addressing the subject of transgender discrimination.

In Macy, the EEOC held that the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (the "ATF") could be found to have violated Title VII when it denied a job application from a transgender woman who applied for a position as a ballistics technician with the federal agency. Notably, the claimant was a veteran police detective, who allegedly was assured by the ATF that she would be hired in the position once she passed her background check. Thereafter, in the midst of the hiring process, after she disclosed her gender transition, the claimant supposedly was told that funding for that position had been suddenly cut. Claimant also claims that, nonetheless, she later learned that the ATF hired another individual for the position that she sought. Ultimately, in response to the claimant's assertions that her EEOC charges of sex and gender identity discrimination should be processed together under Title VII, the EEOC concluded that a claim of discrimination based on gender identity, change of sex, or transgender status is cognizable under Title VII. Similarly, the EEOC found that discrimination against a transgender individual because that person is transgender is, by definition, discrimination based on sex, and that such conduct therefore runs afoul of Title VII. However, because the matter concerned only jurisdictional issues, the EEOC did not rule on whether or not the ATF actually committed discrimination and remanded the issue for further processing.

In reaching its conclusion, the EEOC relied on federal court decisions from throughout the nation that have addressed Title VII's impact on gender identity. In particular, the EEOC cited the United States Supreme Court's decision in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228...