Filed June 12, 2017
Under Title VII, employers are prohibited from discriminating “against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1). The KCRA also makes it unlawful for an employer “to discriminate against an individual … because of the individual’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age forty (40) and over, [or] because the person is a qualified individual with a disability … .” KRS § 344.040(1). Neither protects individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Filed January 31, 2017
See Pitrolo v. Cty of Buncombe, No. 07-2145, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 4862, at *9 (4th Cir. March 11, 2009) (finding complaints to father that were not intended to be passed along to management were not protected activity, even when father passed them on); Bullard v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., No. 09-4024-SAC, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103703, at *34 (D. Kan. Sep. 14, 2011) (finding the plaintiff’s informal conversations with co-workers, in which she 7 The Kentucky Civil Rights Act does not prohibit discriminatory acts based on an employee’s sexual orientation. See Ky. Rev. Stat. § 344.040; Pedreira v. Ky. Baptist Homes for Children, Inc., 579 F.3d 722, 727 (6th Cir. 2009). Case 3:16-cv-00100-DJH-CHL Document 29-1 Filed 01/31/17 Page 11 of 15 PageID #: 485 12 complained that certain policies and practices were discriminatory, were not protected activity because they were not voiced to supervisors or superiors).
Filed September 26, 2016
Accordingly, Mickens fails to state a cl im for relief based on his transgender status/gender identity under KRS 344. The KCRA prohibits discrimination in employment because of an individual’s “race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age forty (40) and over, because the person is a qualified individual with a disability, or because the indiviual is a smoker or nonsmoker. . . .” KRS § 344.040(1)(a). The word “sex” is not defined by theKCRA and the term “gender identity” is nowhere in the statute.