Attorneys General T. J. Donovan of Vermont, Maura Healey of Massachusetts and George Jepson of Connecticut have joined a group of 15 US state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief that calls for making discrimination based on sexual orientation illegal under federal law.
“The attorneys general urge the court to join a growing number of federal appellate courts in recognizing that Title VII’s workplace protections extend to sexual orientation,” states a press release from Vermont AG Donovan’s office.
According to a March 19 report on the Vermont Journalism Trust’s web blog vtdigger.org (more also on the Vermont Business Magazine website):
Donovan was joined by attorneys general from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.
The case that spurred the district court decision was Horton v. Midwest Geriatric Management. Last year, Mark Horton sued the management company because they withdrew a job offer after finding out Horton is gay. …
Horton lived in Illinois, where sexual orientation is a protected status, but worked in Missouri, where it is not. The attorneys general who signed the brief said this gives them a vested interest in making sexual orientation a federally protected status because states cannot protect residents who work in other states.
“Moreover, even in States where sexual orientation discrimination is prohibited, Title VII plays a complementary role by making additional remedies and resources available to victims of discrimination,” the brief said.
Dana Kaplan, executive director of Outright Vermont, said it’s important that state officials look beyond state borders at federal systems in order to bolster protections for Vermonters.
While Vermont law protects people from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, pushing for more progressive federal laws is an important part of supporting the LGBT community, he said.
“If we can improve any systems, policies and laws that say ‘we see you, you matter, and your identity is valid,’ that’s important,“ Kaplan said.
Natalie Silver, spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, said that Donovan often looks to use his position to address civil rights violations elsewhere in the U.S.
“We’re doing something pretty fundamental here,” she said.
