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Employer liable for firing transgender worker 

Published: December 8, 2011

Tags: civil rights, equal protection, gender discrimination, transgender, §1983

A government employer violated a transgender employee’s equal protection rights when it fired her upon learning that she would go forward with a sex change, the 11th Circuit has ruled.

TAXATION 

Published: November 14, 2011

Tags: equal protection, taxation

Does the Equal Protection Clause preclude a local taxing authority from refusing to refund payments made by those who have paid their assessments in full, while forgiving the obligations of identically situated taxpayers who chose to pay over a multi-year installment plan?

Armour v Indianapolis, No. 11-161. Certiorari granted
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State can’t limit benefits to same-sex couples 

Published: September 9, 2011

Tags: civil rights, due process, equal protection, same-sex partners

The state of Arizona cannot enforce a law that denies healthcare benefits to the same-sex partners of state employees, the 9th Circuit has ruled in upholding a preliminary injunction.

Firefighters get $2 million for reverse discrimination 

Published: August 1, 2011

Tags: equal protection, race discrimination, reverse discrimination, Ricci v. Destefano, Supreme Court, Title VII

After taking their reverse discrimination case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, 20 firefighters have reached a $2 million settlement with the city of New Haven, Conn.

Ledbetter Act revives constitutional pay claims 

By: Pat Murphy
Published: March 31, 2011

Tags: employment discrimination, equal protection, Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, race discrimination, Title VII, §1983

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act applies retroactively to both statutory and constitutional pay discrimination claims filed by white police officers, the 7th Circuit has ruled in reversing judgment.

DOJ announces it will stop defending DOMA 

By: Correy Stephenson
Published: February 24, 2011

Tags: Defense of Marriage Act, Department of Justice, DOJ, DOMA, equal protection, Eric Holder, gay marriage, Obama, same-sex couples, same-sex marriage

At the request of President Barack Obama, the Department of Justice has announced that it will no longer defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act against legal challenges.

Judge upholds $17.5 million verdict in airport bid case 

By: Tony Ogden
Published: February 1, 2011

Tags: advertising, Clear Channel, conspiracy, equal protection, Georgia

A judge has denied motions filed by the city of Atlanta and others who sought to overturn a $17.5 million verdict involving a lucrative indoor advertising contract at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Gay marriage amendment sent to California’s highest court 

By: Pat Murphy
Published: January 5, 2011

Tags: due process, equal protection, gay marriage, Prop 8, proposition 8, same-sex marriage

The 9th Circuit has decided to let the California Supreme Court answer a key question in the fight over the constitutionality of the state’s ban on gay marriage.

More suits challenge constitutionality of DOMA 

By: Correy Stephenson
Published: November 12, 2010

Tags: Defense of Marriage Act, DOMA, equal protection, same-sex couples, same-sex marriage

Two more federal lawsuits were filed this week in Connecticut and New York challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act.

State court can’t decide gay divorce 

By: Pat Murphy
Published: September 1, 2010

Tags: equal protection, same-sex marriage

A state court lacked jurisdiction over a divorce case involving a same-sex marriage that occurred in another state, the Texas Court of Appeals has ruled.