Question 1

One purpose of gay and lesbian support groups in workplaces is to:

Accepted Answer

Support groups tackle issues such as workplace hostility, extending employee benefits to domestic partners, making sure that partners are welcome at company social functions, and generally making workplaces less threatening to the worklife and workplace progress of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees and thus more productive for employees and, ultimately, employers.

Question 2

An employer violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if he or she discriminates against men based on effeminacy but does not discriminate against women based on masculinity.

Accepted Answer

For years, male employees tried to argue that their effeminacy should not be a basis on which employers can refuse to hire them or can terminate them from their jobs. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 permits employees claiming discrimination based on failing to fit a certain gender-based stereotype (usually effeminate men) to bring a claim based on gender stereotyping.

Question 3

Lara is a lesbian.She is subjected to verbal abuse at work because of her sexual orientation.The harassment includes calling her a "dyke" and introducing her to new employees as "the resident lesbian." Lara has spoken to her supervisor,and nothing has changed.Lara has a cause of action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Accepted Answer

Lara does not have a cause of action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. case, the U.S. Supreme Court preserved Title VII's (of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) exclusion of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by holding that the sexual harassment of an employee by someone of the same gender is prohibited unless it can be shown that it was actually based on sexual orientation.

Question 4

After an employee undergoes gender reassignment surgery,the safest thing for an employer is to treat the employee consistently with the way the employee presents his or her identity.

Accepted Answer

Once someone has changed his or her gender identity and complies with state laws to do so, he or she is now legally considered to be the gender to which he or she has changed. The safest thing, and the most appropriate for workplace purposes, is simply to treat an employee consistently with the way the employee presents his or her identity.

Question 5

Gender identity statutes are laws:

Accepted Answer

Gender identity statutes are laws providing protection for transgenders. More than 73 local jurisdictions, 15 states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin), and Washington, D.C., provide workplace protection for transgenders called gender identity statutes.

Question 6

Sexual harassment of an employee by someone of the same gender is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 unless it can be shown that the discrimination was based on sexual orientation.

Accepted Answer

In the Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. case, the U.S. Supreme Court preserved Title VII's (of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) exclusion of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by holding that the sexual harassment of an employee by someone of the same gender can give rise to a cause of action for sexual harassment as long as it is clear that the basis for the harassment is not because the harassee is gay or lesbian. If a harassee is a lesbian and the harassment is in the form of something such as constantly calling her a lesbian, "dyke," or other terms related to her orientation, or persistently asking for dates or making sexual comments based strictly on her status as a lesbian, then the harassee would not have a cause of action under Title VII.

Question 7

Gay Pride Month commemorates the beginning of the modern gay rights movement in:

Accepted Answer

Gay Pride Month is actually the commemoration of the historic events of June 1969. In June 1969, when plainclothes police officers raided the Stonewall Inn in New York's Greenwich Village, there was uncharacteristic resistance by the bar patrons joined by people on the street that resulted in a weekend of riots.

Question 8

Sofia is a homosexual.She works in the sales department of True Ace Motors,a Delaware-based firm.Her supervisor constantly tells her that she should dress more femininely,wear makeup,and adopt ladylike behavior.After several failed attempts to change Sofia's behavior,True Ace Motors terminates her.Sofia files a discrimination claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).In this scenario,Sofia's claim is:

Accepted Answer

Sofia's claim is actionable because gender stereotyping results in gender discrimination, which is unlawful under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Judging employees based on stereotypical ideas about a given gender (that is, females who are "too aggressive" or "too macho" or males who are "too effeminate"), rather than on legitimate job requirements, may result in liability for gender discrimination, rather than sexual orientation, and should be avoided. There have been several federal cases holding that discrimination on the basis of gender identity was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution or of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through gender stereotyping, which had been outlawed by the U.S. Supreme Court in its Price Waterhouse decision.

Question 9

Polar Plus Industries has a zero tolerance policy on discrimination and harassment based on race,color,gender,national origin,religion,or sexual orientation.The policy states that employees need to treat each other with respect.Estelle,a Polar Plus employee,is assigned a project with four other co-workers,including Marty,an openly gay man.Estelle believes that homosexuality is immoral and acknowledging Marty in any way would be like accepting homosexuality,which goes against her religion.Thus,she refuses to communicate or work with Marty.As a result,her team has difficulty completing its project.In this scenario,:

Accepted Answer

Estelle has no right to treat her co-worker in ways that discriminate and expose her employer to liability. If an employer has hired someone an employee does not like, for whatever reason, an employee has to decide what it is worth for him or her. Refusing to work with a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) co-worker as required or otherwise treating the co-worker in ways that discriminate and expose the employer to liability is simply not an option.

Question 10

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination against employees for changing their gender.

Accepted Answer

Unlike sexual orientation, gender identity was given protection under Title VII through an EEOC decision that interpreted gender discrimination as including discrimination on the basis of gender identity. That is, employees can now file claims with the EEOC for gender identity discrimination.

Question 11

Research shows that in states with laws prohibiting discrimination against gays and lesbians,the laws had:

Accepted Answer

A U.S. Government Accountability Office report on states with antidiscrimination laws protecting gays and lesbians found that the laws had not generated a significant amount of litigation. Based on the potential for increased productivity and the possibility of litigation or other business problems, some employers conclude that it is safe to base workplace decisions solely on an employee's ability to effectively perform the job rather than on his or her sexual orientation.

Question 12

An employer could be liable for discrimination based on sexual orientation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if he or she knowingly hired lesbians but refused to hire gay men.

Accepted Answer

Sexual orientation is not a protected category under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, 21 state laws and the District of Columbia, hundreds of local ordinances, and thousands of workplaces, including 91 percent of Fortune 500 companies include it as part of their employment discrimination laws and policies. Therefore, the employer could be liable under state law but not under Title VII. Further, the employer may be liable for discrimination based on gender discrimination.

Question 13

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)has included gender identity as a part of sexual orientation discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Accepted Answer

As of April 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) accepts complaints of gender identity discrimination as a type of gender discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the EEOC's view, because Title VII is a remedial law, it needed to be broadly construed to strike at the entire spectrum of ways in which discrimination is manifested.

Question 14

The term transgender includes those who may not yet have undergone gender reassignment surgery but are living as the opposite gender.

Accepted Answer

While the term transgender has traditionally been used for those who have undergone gender reassignment surgery, with a growing awareness of the issues of transgenders and a greater sense of themselves than historically has come a change in the use of the term. It is now often used more loosely to include those who may not yet have had surgery but are living as the opposite gender.

Question 15

Gender identity means having an affinity for the same gender.

Accepted Answer

Sexual orientation refers to a person's emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction to individuals of a particular gender (women or men). Gender identity is how one identifies for male/female purposes, based on a combination of genetics and environment, including, among other things, transgender.

Question 16

A dress code that prohibits men from wearing makeup in the workplace violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Accepted Answer

Employers are able to have workplace dress codes as long as they do not violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. There is nothing in Title VII to prevent an employer from prohibiting men from wearing makeup in the workplace. Note, however, that the EEOC has interpreted discrimination against transgenders as a violation of Title VII based on gender.

Question 17

How will the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA)affect Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if enacted?

Accepted Answer

If enacted, the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) would basically extend Title VII's (the Civil Rights Act of 1964) reach to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The Senate passed ENDA for the first time in history in 2013, but the U.S. House of Representatives has failed to do so.

Question 18

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Accepted Answer

Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is not included in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Those who are terminated or not hired solely on the basis of sexual orientation have no claim for relief under this law.

Question 19

There is no federal legislation protecting gays and lesbians from employment discrimination.However,:

Accepted Answer

Having no federal legislation protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees from workplace discrimination does not mean that employers are totally free to discriminate against them. There are a number of state and local jurisdictions with protective legislation. Between state laws and local ordinances or executive orders, every single state in the union now has some form of job discrimination protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees.

Question 20

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)defined marriage as between any two individuals,regardless of their gender identities or sexual orientations,for federal purposes.

Accepted Answer

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defined marriage as between a man and a woman for federal purposes. Therefore, even in states that permitted same-sex marriages, legally married same-sex couples could not take advantage of the federal rights that came with that institution such as tax benefits.
Multiple Choice Questions

Quiz 10: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination