Summary
remanding for consideration after Bostock a plaintiff's Title VII claim that the defendant withdrew plaintiff's job offer after learning he was gay
Summary of this case from Blount v. Ajinomoto Health & NutritionOpinion
No. 18-1104
07-06-2020
Mark HORTON, Plaintiff - Appellant v. MIDWEST GERIATRIC MANAGEMENT, LLC, Defendant - Appellee Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; State of Iowa; State of Minnesota; State of California; State of Connecticut; State of Hawaii; State of Maryland; State of Massachusetts; State of New Jersey; State of New Mexico; State of New York; State of Oregon; State of Vermont; State of Virginia; State of Washington; District of Columbia; Kargo; State of Illinois; 9 to 5 National Association of Working Women ; A Better Balance; AdRoll, Inc.; Airbnb; American Association of University Women; American Civil Liberties Union; American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri ; Anti-Defamation League; BASF Corporation; Bend the Arc; CBS Corporation; Caldwell Partners; California Women's Law Center; Central Conference of American Rabbis; Christopher Street Financial; Citrix Systems, Inc.; City National Bank; Clockwork; Coalition of Labor Union Women; Columbia Law School Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic; Deutsche Bank; Diageo North America, Inc.; Diversified Health and Wellness Center, LLC; DoorDash, Inc ; Dropbox, Inc.; Eastern Bank; Edelman; Equal Rights Advocates; Feminist Majority Foundation; FiftyThree, Inc.; Freedom for All Americans Education Fund ; GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders ; Gender Justice ; Gusto; Hindu American Foundation; IAC/InterActiveCorp; Interfaith Alliance Foundation ; KEO Marketing Inc.; Legal Momentum; Legal Voice; Levi Strauss & Company; Linden Research, Inc.; Lyft; MassMutual; Mapbox; Microsoft Corporation; Morgan Stanley; NIO U.S.; National Center for Lesbian Rights; National Council of Jewish Women; National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce ; National Organization for Women Foundation; National Partnership for Women and Families; National Women's Law Center; OBOX Solutions; Out Leadership ; Paypal Holdings Inc ; Pinterest; RBC Bank (Georgia); RBC Capital Markets, LLC; Replacements, Ltd.; Rhapsody International Inc; Royal Bank of Canada; Southwest Women's Law Center ; St. Louis and Kansas City Missouri Chapters of the National Employment Lawyers Association; The Estee Lauder Companies; Thumbtack, Inc.; Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.; Viacom, Inc.; Witeck Communications ; Women Employed ; Women of Reform Judaism; Women's Law Center of Maryland, Inc. ; Women's Law Project; eBay; Salesforce.com, Inc., Amici on Behalf of Appellant The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty; State of Arkansas; State of Louisiana; State of Missouri; State of Nebraska; State of Oklahoma; State of South Dakota; State of Texas, Amici on Behalf of Appellee
Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellant was Gregory R. Nevins, of Atlanta, GA. The following attorney(s) appeared on the appellant brief; Gregory R. Nevins, of Atlanta, GA., Mark S. Schuver, of Belleville, IL., Natalie T. Lorenz, of Belleville, IL., Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, of New York, NY., Sharon McGowan, of Washington, DC. Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellee was Neal F. Perryman, of Saint Louis, MO. The following attorney(s) appeared on the appellee brief; Neal F. Perryman, of Saint Louis, MO., Philip J. Mackey, of Saint Louis, MO., Michael L Jente, of Saint Louis, MO. Counsel who presented argument on behalf of amicus Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was Gail S. Coleman, of Washington, DC. The following attorney(s) appeared on the amicus brief of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; Gail S. Coleman, of Washington, DC. The following attorney(s) appeared on the amici brief of the States; Lisa Madigan, AG, State of Illinois, Tom Miller, AG, State of Iowa, Lori Swanson, AG, State of Minnesota, Xavier Becerra, AG, State of California, George Jepsen, AG, State of Connecticut, Karl A. Racine, AG, District of Columbia, Russell A. Suzuki, AG, State of Hawaii, Brian E. Frosh, AG, State of Maryland, Maura Healey, AG, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Gurbir S. Grewal, AG, State of New Jersey, Hector Balderas, AG, State of New Mexico, Eric T. Schneiderman, AG, State of New York, Ellen F. Rosenblum, AG, State of Oregon, Thomas J. Donovan, Jr. AG, State of Vermont, Mark R. Herring, AG, State of Virginia, Robert W. Ferguson, AG, State of Washington, Karyn L. Bass Ehler, AAG, of Chicago, IL., Cynthia L. Flores, AAG, of Chicago, IL., David L. Franklin, AAG, of Chicago, IL., Cara A. Hendrickson, AAG, of Chicago, IL., Brett E. Legner, AAG, of Chicago, IL., Matthew J. Martin, AAG, of Chicago, IL., Deborah Rae Sterling Scott, AAG, of Swansea, IL., Jeffrey J. VanDam, AAG, Chicago, IL. The following attorney(s) appeared on the amici brief of American Civil Liberties Union, American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, 9 to 5 National Association of Working Women, A Better Balance, American Association of University Women, California Women's Law Center, Coalition of Labor Union Women, Equal Rights Advocates, Feminist Majority Foundation, Gender Justice, Legal Momentum, Legal Voice, National Organization for Women Foundation, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Women's Law Center, Southwest Women's Law Center, Women Employed, Women's Law Center of Maryland, Inc., and Women's Law Project; Leslie Cooper, of New York, NY., Anthony E. Rothert, of Saint Louis, MO., Lenora Lapidus, of New York, NY., Ria Tabacca Mar, of New York, NY., Gillian L. Thomas, of New York, NY. The following attorney(s) appeared on the amicus brief of Columbia Law School Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic; Katherine Susan Barrett Wiik, of Minneapolis, MN., Lisa Louise Beane, of Minneapolis, MN. The following attorney(s) appeared on the amicus brief of National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders; Mary Bonauto, of Boston, MA., Gary Buseck, of Boston, MA., Shannon Price Minter, of San Francisco, CA., Christopher F. Stoll, of San Francisco, CA. The following attorney(s) appeared on the amicus brief of St. Louis and Kansas City Missouri Chapters of the National Employment Lawyers Association; Ferne P. Wolf, of Saint Louis, MO., Jill A. Silverstein, of Saint Louis, MO., Joshua M. Pierson, of Saint Louis, MO. The following attorney(s) appeared on the amicus brief of 47 Businesses and Organizations. AdRoll, Inc. d/b/a/ AdRoll Group, Airbnb, BASF Corporation, Caldwell Partners, CBS Corporation, Christopher Street Financial, Citrix Systems, Inc., Clockwork, Diageo North America, Inc., Diversified Health and Wellness Center, LLC, DoorDash, Inc., Dropbox, Inc., Eastern Bank, eBay, Edelman, The EsteeLauder Companies, FiftyThree, Inc., Freedom for All Americans Education Fund, Gusto, IAC/InterActiveCorp, Kargo, KEO Marketing Inc., Levi Strauss & Co., Linden Research, Inc. d/b/a Linden Lab, Lyft, Mapbox, MassMutual, National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), NIO U.S., OBOX Solutions, Out Leadership, PayPal Holdings, Inc., Pinterest, Replacements, Ltd., Rhapsody International Inc. d/b/a Napster, salesforce.com, inc., Thumbtack Inc., Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc., Viacom Inc., Witeck Communications, City National Bank, Deutsche Bank, Microsoft Corporation, Morgan Stanley, RBC Bank (Georgia), N.A., RBC Capital Markets, LLC, and Royal Bank of Canada; Todd Anten, of New York, NY., Justin T. Reinheimer, of San Francisco, CA., Cory D. Struble, of New York, NY., Tico Almeida, of Washington, DC., Brian D. Klar, of Saint Louis, MO., The following attorney(s) appeared on the amicus brief of Anti-Defamation League, Bend the Arc, A Jewish Partnership for Justice, Hindu American Foundation, Interfaith Alliance Foundation, National Council of Jewish Women, Central Conference of American Rabbis, and Women of Reform Judaism; David Barkey, of New York, NY., Jacob Berger, of Chicago, IL., Steven M. Freeman, of New York, NY., Melody L. Gaal, of Chicago, IL., Melissa Garlick, of New York, NY., Michael Rothstein, of Chicago, IL., Miriam Zeidman, of New York, NY. The following attorney(s) appeared on the amicus brief of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty; Eric C. Rassbach, of Washington, DC., Nicholas R. Reaves, of Washington, DC. The following attorney(s) appeared on the amicus brief of the State of Arkansas, State of Louisiana, State of Michigan, State of Missouri, State of Nebraska, State of Oklahoma, State of South Dakota, and State of Texas; Nicholas J. Bronni, AAG, of Little Rock, AR., Dylan L. Jacobs, AAG, of Little Rock, AR., and former AAG LeeP. Rudofsky, of Little Rock, AR.
Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellant was Gregory R. Nevins, of Atlanta, GA. The following attorney(s) appeared on the appellant brief; Gregory R. Nevins, of Atlanta, GA., Mark S. Schuver, of Belleville, IL., Natalie T. Lorenz, of Belleville, IL., Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, of New York, NY., Sharon McGowan, of Washington, DC.
Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellee was Neal F. Perryman, of Saint Louis, MO. The following attorney(s) appeared on the appellee brief; Neal F. Perryman, of Saint Louis, MO., Philip J. Mackey, of Saint Louis, MO., Michael L Jente, of Saint Louis, MO.
Counsel who presented argument on behalf of amicus Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was Gail S. Coleman, of Washington, DC. The following attorney(s) appeared on the amicus brief of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; Gail S. Coleman, of Washington, DC.
The following attorney(s) appeared on the amici brief of the States; Lisa Madigan, AG, State of Illinois, Tom Miller, AG, State of Iowa, Lori Swanson, AG, State of Minnesota, Xavier Becerra, AG, State of California, George Jepsen, AG, State of Connecticut, Karl A. Racine, AG, District of Columbia, Russell A. Suzuki, AG, State of Hawaii, Brian E. Frosh, AG, State of Maryland, Maura Healey, AG, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Gurbir S. Grewal, AG, State of New Jersey, Hector Balderas, AG, State of New Mexico, Eric T. Schneiderman, AG, State of New York, Ellen F. Rosenblum, AG, State of Oregon, Thomas J. Donovan, Jr. AG, State of Vermont, Mark R. Herring, AG, State of Virginia, Robert W. Ferguson, AG, State of Washington, Karyn L. Bass Ehler, AAG, of Chicago, IL., Cynthia L. Flores, AAG, of Chicago, IL., David L. Franklin, AAG, of Chicago, IL., Cara A. Hendrickson, AAG, of Chicago, IL., Brett E. Legner, AAG, of Chicago, IL., Matthew J. Martin, AAG, of Chicago, IL., Deborah Rae Sterling Scott, AAG, of Swansea, IL., Jeffrey J. VanDam, AAG, Chicago, IL.
The following attorney(s) appeared on the amici brief of American Civil Liberties Union, American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, 9 to 5 National Association of Working Women, A Better Balance, American Association of University Women, California Women's Law Center, Coalition of Labor Union Women, Equal Rights Advocates, Feminist Majority Foundation, Gender Justice, Legal Momentum, Legal Voice, National Organization for Women Foundation, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Women's Law Center, Southwest Women's Law Center, Women Employed, Women's Law Center of Maryland, Inc., and Women's Law Project; Leslie Cooper, of New York, NY., Anthony E. Rothert, of Saint Louis, MO., Lenora Lapidus, of New York, NY., Ria Tabacca Mar, of New York, NY., Gillian L. Thomas, of New York, NY.
The following attorney(s) appeared on the amicus brief of Columbia Law School Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic; Katherine Susan Barrett Wiik, of Minneapolis, MN., Lisa Louise Beane, of Minneapolis, MN.
The following attorney(s) appeared on the amicus brief of National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders; Mary Bonauto, of Boston, MA., Gary Buseck, of Boston, MA., Shannon Price Minter, of San Francisco, CA., Christopher F. Stoll, of San Francisco, CA.
The following attorney(s) appeared on the amicus brief of St. Louis and Kansas City Missouri Chapters of the National Employment Lawyers Association; Ferne P. Wolf, of Saint Louis, MO., Jill A. Silverstein, of Saint Louis, MO., Joshua M. Pierson, of Saint Louis, MO.
The following attorney(s) appeared on the amicus brief of 47 Businesses and Organizations. AdRoll, Inc. d/b/a/ AdRoll Group, Airbnb, BASF Corporation, Caldwell Partners, CBS Corporation, Christopher Street Financial, Citrix Systems, Inc., Clockwork, Diageo North America, Inc., Diversified Health and Wellness Center, LLC, DoorDash, Inc., Dropbox, Inc., Eastern Bank, eBay, Edelman, The EsteeLauder Companies, FiftyThree, Inc., Freedom for All Americans Education Fund, Gusto, IAC/InterActiveCorp, Kargo, KEO Marketing Inc., Levi Strauss & Co., Linden Research, Inc. d/b/a Linden Lab, Lyft, Mapbox, MassMutual, National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), NIO U.S., OBOX Solutions, Out Leadership, PayPal Holdings, Inc., Pinterest, Replacements, Ltd., Rhapsody International Inc. d/b/a Napster, salesforce.com, inc., Thumbtack Inc., Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc., Viacom Inc., Witeck Communications, City National Bank, Deutsche Bank, Microsoft Corporation, Morgan Stanley, RBC Bank (Georgia), N.A., RBC Capital Markets, LLC, and Royal Bank of Canada; Todd Anten, of New York, NY., Justin T. Reinheimer, of San Francisco, CA., Cory D. Struble, of New York, NY., Tico Almeida, of Washington, DC., Brian D. Klar, of Saint Louis, MO.,
The following attorney(s) appeared on the amicus brief of Anti-Defamation League, Bend the Arc, A Jewish Partnership for Justice, Hindu American Foundation, Interfaith Alliance Foundation, National Council of Jewish Women, Central Conference of American Rabbis, and Women of Reform Judaism; David Barkey, of New York, NY., Jacob Berger, of Chicago, IL., Steven M. Freeman, of New York, NY., Melody L. Gaal, of Chicago, IL., Melissa Garlick, of New York, NY., Michael Rothstein, of Chicago, IL., Miriam Zeidman, of New York, NY.
The following attorney(s) appeared on the amicus brief of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty; Eric C. Rassbach, of Washington, DC., Nicholas R. Reaves, of Washington, DC.
The following attorney(s) appeared on the amicus brief of the State of Arkansas, State of Louisiana, State of Michigan, State of Missouri, State of Nebraska, State of Oklahoma, State of South Dakota, and State of Texas; Nicholas J. Bronni, AAG, of Little Rock, AR., Dylan L. Jacobs, AAG, of Little Rock, AR., and former AAG LeeP. Rudofsky, of Little Rock, AR.
Before LOKEN, WOLLMAN, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM. Mark Horton sued Midwest Geriatric Management, LLC, after it allegedly withdrew his job offer upon learning that he was gay. He claimed that this act constituted sex discrimination under Title VII. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1) (prohibiting a "refus[al] to hire ... any individual ... because of such individual's ... sex"). The district court, relying on our precedent, dismissed the case. See Williamson v. A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. , 876 F.2d 69, 70 (8th Cir. 1989) (per curiam) ("Title VII does not prohibit discrimination against homosexuals."); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).
We stayed Horton's appeal pending the Supreme Court's consideration of the "scope of Title VII's protections for homosexual and transgender persons." Bostock v. Clayton Cty. , 590 U.S. ––––, ––– S.Ct. ––––, ––– L.Ed.2d ––––, Nos. 17-1618, 17-1623, 18-107, slip op. at 4,2020WL3146686 (June 15, 2020) ; see Bostock v. Clayton Cty. , ––– U.S. ––––, 139 S. Ct. 1599, 203 L.Ed.2d 754 (Apr. 22, 2019) (order granting the petition for a writ of certiorari). In its decision, the Court held that it "defies" Title VII for "an employer to discriminate against employees for being homosexual or transgender," because to do so, it "must intentionally discriminate against individual men and women in part because of sex." Bostock , 590 U.S. at ––––, ––– S.Ct. ––––, slip op. at 12, 33. In light of this holding, our contrary conclusion in Williamson is no longer good law.
We accordingly reverse the judgment of the district court and remand for further proceedings in light of Bostock .
Horton alleged two other claims: religious discrimination under Title VII and fraudulent inducement. Only the former, which the district court described as "a repackag[ing]" of his sex-discrimination claim, is before us on appeal. (Citation omitted). This claim, too, warrants another look in light of Bostock .
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