Bradley Partner Will Manuel Quoted in Cook County Record on 7th Circuit Decision on Title VII Sex Discrimination

Bradley attorney Will Manuel was quoted in the Cook County Record on a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit determining that discriminating because of a person's sexual orientation qualifies as sex discrimination. In Kimberly Hivelyv. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Hivelyalleged that her employer violated her rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on sex.

Manuel explained that the decision "essentially went in a completely opposite direction from almost every other circuit," but for the San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

"The Ninth Circuit, you can usually expect is always a little bit more on the cutting edge, they think, of the law," Manuel said. "But the Seventh Circuit, this is one that a lot of people are watching."

He said employers should take note, particularly if they are located within the Seventh Circuit, which includes the states of Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana.

"You can expect you're going to get a whole lot of other plaintiffs and a whole lot of other defendants," Manuel said. "In their other cases, they're going to say because there's now a split in the circuits, the U.S. Supreme Court needs to decide it."

The complete article, “7^th Circ. LGBT Title VII sex discrimination decision puts employers on notice; SCOTUS to ultimately decide,” appeared in the Cook County Record on April 11, 2017.