Employer's termination of a biologically male employee transitioning from male to female held unlawful discrimination on the basis of sex

Employer's termination of a biologically male employee transitioning from male to female held unlawful discrimination on the basis of sex

EEOC v R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Home., USCA, 6th Circuit, No. 16-2424

Plaintiff, born biologically male, while living and presenting as a man, worked as a funeral director at R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. [Funeral Home], a closely held for-profit corporation.

In an unlawful discrimination complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC] Plaintiff alleged that the Funeral Home terminated her* after she had advised the Funeral Home that she intended to transition from male to female and would commence presenting herself and dress as a woman while at work.

In the course of EEOC investigation of Plaintiff's complaint it found that the Funeral Home provided its male public-facing employees with clothing that complied with the company’s dress code while female public-facing employees received no such allowance.

The EEOC subsequently brought suit against the Funeral Home in which the EEOC charged the Funeral Home with violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 [Title VI] by (1) terminating Plaintiff's employment on the basis of her transgender or transitioning status and her refusal to conform to sex-based stereotypes; and (2) administering a discriminatory-clothing-allowance policy.

In its motion for summary judgment, EEOC argued that it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law on both of its claims.

The Funeral Home, in contrast, contended that it had not violate Title VII by requiring Plaintiff to comply with a sex-specific dress code that it asserts equally burdens male and female employees, and, in the alternative, that Title VII should not be enforced against the Funeral Home because requiring the Funeral Home owners to employ Plaintiff while she dresses and represents herself as a woman would constitute an unjustified substantial burden upon the Funeral Home’s owner's sincerely held religious beliefs in violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act [RFRA].

The federal district granted summary judgment in favor of the Funeral Home on both claims.

The Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, holding that:

[1] the Funeral Home engaged in unlawful discrimination against Plaintiff on the basis of her sex; and 

[2] the Funeral Home has not established that applying Title VII’s proscriptions against sex discrimination to the Funeral Home would substantially burden its owner's exercise of their religious beliefs and, therefore, the Funeral Home was not entitled to a defense under RFRA.

Further, said the Circuit court, (a) even if the Funeral Home's owner's religious exercise were substantially burdened, the EEOC established that enforcing Title VII is the least restrictive means of furthering the government’s compelling interest in eradicating workplace discrimination against Plaintiff and (b) that the EEOC may bring a discriminatory-clothing-allowance claim in this case because such an investigation into the Funeral Home’s clothing-allowance policy was reasonably expected to grow out of the original charge of sex discrimination that Plaintiff submitted to the EEOC.

The Circuit Court issued a judgment to the EEOC on its unlawful-termination claim, and remanded the case to the district court "for further proceedings consistent with this opinion."

* The Circuit Court used female pronouns in its decision in accordance with the preference Plaintiff expressed through her briefing to this court.

The decision is posted on the Internet at:

https://cases.justia.com/federal/appellate-courts/ca6/16-2424/16-2424-2018-03-07.pdf?ts=1520443817

An individual's General Municipal Law §207-c benefits may be discontinued where the decision to do so is supported by substantial evidence

An individual's General Municipal Law §207-c benefits may be discontinued where the decision to do so is supported by substantial evidence

Matter of Cordway v Cayuga County, 2018 NY Slip Op 04873, Appellate Division, Fourth Department

Petitioner, a deputy sheriff, commenced a CPLR article 78 proceeding challenging the determination that terminated the disability benefits the deputy sheriff had been receiving pursuant to General Municipal Law §207-c. The Hearing Officer issued a report recommending that Petitioner's continued receipt of benefits be terminated. Contrary to Petitioner's contention, the Appellate Division found "no basis to disturb the Hearing Officer's determination terminating the benefits."

Although Petitioner presented evidence supporting his contention that his injuries and ailments were causally related to the work-related, the Hearing Officer was entitled to weigh the parties' conflicting medical evidence and to assess the credibility of the witnesses. Where the evidence is conflicting and there is room for a choice, a court may not weigh the evidence or reject the Hearing Officer's decision where his or her determination is supported by substantial evidence

Citing Matter of Park v Kapica, 8 NY3d 302, the court opined that an employer's "initial award of Section 207-c benefits does not require the continuation of such benefits inasmuch as "[t]he continued receipt of Section 207-c disability payments is not absolute."

The decision is posted on the Internet at:

http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2018/2018_04873.htm

Audits and reports were issued by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli

Audits and reports were issued by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli during the week ending August 10, 2018

Source: Office of the State Comptroller

Click on text highlighted in color to access the full report

On August 9, 2018 the New York State Comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, announced the following audits and examinations had been issued.

Department of Health (DOH): Medicaid Claims Processing Activity April 1, 2017 through Sept. 30, 2017 (2017-S-23)
Auditors identified approximately $10.2 million in improper Medicaid payments, including: $3.7 million in overpayments for claims that were billed with incorrect information pertaining to other health insurance coverage that recipients had; $3.1 million in overpayments for claims involving Medicare coverage that were incorrectly processed; and $1.3 million in overpayments for improper newborn birth claims. About $4.5 million of the overpayments were recovered by the end of audit fieldwork. Auditors also identified providers in the Medicaid program who were charged with or found guilty of crimes that violated health care programs’ laws or regulations. DOH terminated 42 of 51 providers identified.
       
Department of Health (DOH): Examination of Travel Expenses (2015-BSE1-04B)
In an earlier report, auditors found DOH improperly designated an employee’s official station in calendar years 2013 and 2014, costing the state more than $38,000 in unnecessary travel expenses. After further examination, auditors found DOH paid $22,651.32, $26,556.12 and $6,007.79 in travel expenses for calendar years 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively, for the employee to commute between his residence and his main work location. DOH could have avoided these costs if officials had properly designated the employee’s main work location as his official station.

Workers' Compensation Board: Annual Audit
The board processed claims totaling nearly $720 million for four sole custody funds in 2017 – the Uninsured Employers Fund, the Special Fund for Disability Benefits, the Second Injury Fund and the Fund for Reopened Cases.  Board staff enter claims data for all special funds claims into the Board’s automated payment system, where the claims are subjected to various system edits and validation checks, approved by the Board and submitted to the Comptroller’s Office for approval prior to payment. Auditors halted inappropriate claims totaling nearly $520,000 that the board approved. 

Brewster-Southeast Joint Fire District – Recordkeeping and Procurement (Putnam County)
The treasurer’s accounting records were not accurate as of Dec. 31, 2017. Cash accounts were incorrectly recorded, the operating bank account balance was understated by more than $377,000 and the capital reserve balance was overstated by $200,790. Also, district officials did not always solicit competition when procuring professional services.

Village of Deposit – Disbursements and Real Property Tax Enforcement (Delaware County)
The board did not ensure all disbursements were approved before payment or for proper purposes. In addition, auditors found the village began to effectively enforce the collection of delinquent real property taxes in March 2016, but $172,900 remains outstanding as of Feb. 28, 2018.

Multiple Dwelling Property Inspections (2018MS-01)
Auditors found all six local governments that were reviewed had properties that had never been inspected. Overall, 59 percent of the preventative maintenance inspections and 52 percent of the fire safety inspections were not performed. The cities of White Plains, Schenectady and Lackawanna had limited or non-existent multiple dwelling inspection programs and the city of Utica did not have a feasible program. Although the town of Greece and the village of Hempstead have developed more effective inspection programs, their programs also have opportunities for improvement.

Orleans County Soil and Water Conservation District – Claims Audit (2018M-105)
Auditors examined 72 claims totaling approximately $524,000 paid during the audit period and determined that all of the claims were for appropriate district purposes and adequately supported. The board, however, has not adopted a cash disbursement policy.

City of Yonkers - Fiscal Agent Act Compliance (Westchester County)
The city’s 2018-19 budget relies on nonrecurring revenue of $59.2 million to balance its budget. Police overtime costs could potentially be over budget by as much as $2.5 million and firefighting overtime costs could be over budget by as much as $949,000. The city plans to borrow up to $15 million for tax certiorari settlements and to issue debt of up to $9.8 million for water fund improvements.

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