National
Court finds anti-gay workforce bias legal, still rules for gay plaintiff
Judges cite sex stereotyping prohibition in decision


A federal appeals court ruled for a gay plaintiff despite finding anti-gay workforce bias is lawful.
A federal appeals court ruled Monday anti-gay bias in the workplace is legal under current federal civil rights law barring discrimination based on sex, but nonetheless handed a victory to a gay plaintiff on the basis that the discrimination she faced amounted to illegal sex-stereotyping.
In a 15-page opinion, a three-judge panel on the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously found precedent bars the court from concluding the global DDB Worldwide Communications Group illegally discriminated against Matthew Christiansen for being gay under the Title VII of the Civil Rights of Act.
The per curiam opinion found a district court handling the Christiansen v. Omnicom Group erred in its conclusion sexual-orientation discrimination constitutes sex discrimination under federal civil rights law, citing the 2000 decision in Simonton v. Runyon and the 2005 decision in Dawson v. Bumble & Bumble.
“Because we are ‘bound by the decisions of prior panels until such time as they are overruled either by an en banc panel of our Court or by the Supreme Court…it [is] ordinarily…neither appropriate nor possible for [a panel] to reverse an existing Circuit precedent,'” the decision says. “We thus lack the power to reconsider Simonton and Dawson.”
However, the court concluded Christiansen, who’s openly gay and HIV positive, made a compelling case he faced discrimination based on sex-stereotyping, which the U.S. Supreme Court determined is unlawful in the 1989 decision of Price Waterhouse v. Coopers.
“Christiansen’s complaint identifies multiple instances of gender stereotyping discrimination,” the decision says. “His complaint alleges that his supervisor described him as ‘effeminate’ to others in the office…and depicted him in tights and a low‐cut shirt ‘prancing around.’ The complaint further alleges that the ‘Muscle Beach Party’ party poster, depicting Christiansen’s head attached to a bikini‐clad female body lying on the ground with her legs in the air, was seen by at least one coworker as portraying Christiansen ‘as a submissive sissy.'”
As a result, the court reverses the district court decision rejecting Christiansen’s allegations of sex-stereotyping in the workforce, remanding the decision for reconsideration.
The three-judge panel consisted of U.S. Chief Judge Robert Katzmann, a Clinton appointee; U.S. Circuit Judge Debra Ann Livingston, a George W. Bush appointee; and U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie, an Obama appointee sitting on the court by designation.
In a concurring opinion, Katzmann and Brodie examine the evolution of the understanding of sexual orientation in the legal landscape. Although the judges say precedent prevents them from determining sexual-orientation discrimination is sex discrimination, they conclude the time has come for reconsideration by the full court under “en banc” review.
“I respectfully think that in the context of an appropriate case our Court should consider reexamining the holding that sexual orientation discrimination claims are not cognizable under Title VII,” Katzmann writes. “Other federal courts are also grappling with this question, and it well may be that the Supreme Court will ultimately address it.”
A number of cases are percolating federal appeals court urging the judiciary to determine sexual-orientation discrimination is sex discrimination under current law. In a new trend, district courts and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have found Title VII bars anti-gay bias in the workforce, although no federal appeals court has reached that conclusion.
Had the 2nd Circuit ruled that sexual-orientation discrimination is unlawful under Title VII, it would have been the first federal appeals court to determine existing civil rights law extends to gay, lesbian and bisexual people in the workforce.
Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said the ruling had promise even though judges concluded the sexual-orientation discrimination isn’t unlawful under Title VII.
“I am actually encouraged by the court’s recognition that there is no principled reason to exclude sexual orientation discrimination from Title VII, and by their support for ‘en banc’ review,” Minter said. “Courts are finally taking these claims seriously, and I expect that we will see more and more positive decisions, hopefully including a positive ‘en banc’ decision from the 11th Circuit.”
Federal Government
RFK Jr.’s HHS report pushes therapy, not medical interventions, for trans youth
‘Discredited junk science’ — GLAAD

A 409-page report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services challenges the ethics of medical interventions for youth experiencing gender dysphoria, the treatments that are often collectively called gender-affirming care, instead advocating for psychotherapy alone.
The document comes in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order barring the federal government from supporting gender transitions for anyone younger than 19.
“Our duty is to protect our nation’s children — not expose them to unproven and irreversible medical interventions,” National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said in a statement. “We must follow the gold standard of science, not activist agendas.”
While the report does not constitute clinical guidance, its findings nevertheless conflict with not just the recommendations of LGBTQ advocacy groups but also those issued by organizations with relevant expertise in science and medicine.
The American Medical Association, for instance, notes that “empirical evidence has demonstrated that trans and non-binary gender identities are normal variations of human identity and expression.”
Gender-affirming care for transgender youth under standards widely used in the U.S. includes supportive talk therapy along with — in some but not all cases — puberty blockers or hormone treatment.
“The suggestion that someone’s authentic self and who they are can be ‘changed’ is discredited junk science,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. “This so-called guidance is grossly misleading and in direct contrast to the recommendation of every leading health authority in the world. This report amounts to nothing more than forcing the same discredited idea of conversion therapy that ripped families apart and harmed gay, lesbian, and bisexual young people for decades.”
GLAAD further notes that the “government has not released the names of those involved in consulting or authoring this report.”
Janelle Perez, executive director of LPAC, said, “For decades, every major medical association–including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics–have affirmed that medical care is the only safe and effective treatment for transgender youth experiencing gender dysphoria.
“This report is simply promoting conversion therapy by a different name – and the American people know better. We know that conversion therapy isn’t actually therapy – it isolates and harms kids, scapegoats parents, and divides families through blame and rejection. These tactics have been used against gay kids for decades, and now the same people want to use them against transgender youth and their families.
“The end result here will be a devastating denial of essential health care for transgender youth, replaced by a dangerous practice that every major U.S. medical and mental health association agree promotes anxiety, depression, and increased risk of suicidal thoughts and attempts.
“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice, and no amount of pressure can force someone to change who they are. We also know that 98% of people who receive transition-related health care continue to receive that health care throughout their lifetime. Trans health care is health care.”
“Today’s report seeks to erase decades of research and learning, replacing it with propaganda. The claims in today’s report would rip health care away from kids and take decision-making out of the hands of parents,” said Shannon Minter, legal director of NCLR. “It promotes the same kind of conversion therapy long used to shame LGBTQ+ people into hating themselves for being unable to change something they can’t change.”
“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice—it’s rooted in biology and genetics,” Minter said. “No amount or talk or pressure will change that.”
Human Rights Campaign Chief of Staff Jay Brown released a statement: “Trans people are who we are. We’re born this way. And we deserve to live our best lives and have a fair shot and equal opportunity at living a good life.
“This report misrepresents the science that has led all mainstream American medical and mental health professionals to declare healthcare for transgender youth to be best practice and instead follows a script predetermined not by experts but by Sec. Kennedy and anti-equality politicians.”
The White House
Trump nominates Mike Waltz to become next UN ambassador
Former Fla. congressman had been national security advisor

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he will nominate Mike Waltz to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
Waltz, a former Florida congressman, had been the national security advisor.
Trump announced the nomination amid reports that Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, were going to leave the administration after Waltz in March added a journalist to a Signal chat in which he, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other officials discussed plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen.
“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States ambassador to the United Nations,” said Trump in a Truth Social post that announced Waltz’s nomination. “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.”
Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as interim national security advisor, “while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department.”
“Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to make America, and the world, safe again,” said Trump.
Trump shortly after his election nominated U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Trump in March withdrew her nomination in order to ensure Republicans maintained their narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
U.S. Federal Courts
Second federal lawsuit filed against White House passport policy
Two of seven plaintiffs live in Md.

Lambda Legal on April 25 filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of seven transgender and nonbinary people who are challenging the Trump-Vance administration’s passport policy.
The lawsuit, which Lambda Legal filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore, alleges the policy that bans the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers “has caused and is causing grave and immediate harm to transgender people like plaintiffs, in violation of their constitutional rights to equal protection.”
Two of the seven plaintiffs — Jill Tran and Peter Poe — live in Maryland. The State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the federal government are defendants.
“The discriminatory passport policy exposes transgender U.S. citizens to harassment, abuse, and discrimination, in some cases endangering them abroad or preventing them from traveling, by forcing them to use identification documents that share private information against their wishes,” said Lambda Legal in a press release.
Zander Schlacter, a New York-based textile artist and designer, is the lead plaintiff.
The lawsuit notes he legally changed his name and gender in New York.
Schlacter less than a week before President Donald Trump’s inauguration “sent an expedited application to update his legal name on his passport, using form DS-5504.”
Trump once he took office signed an executive order that banned the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers. The lawsuit notes Schlacter received his new passport in February.
“The passport has his correct legal name, but now has an incorrect sex marker of ‘F’ or ‘female,'” notes the lawsuit. “Mr. Schlacter also received a letter from the State Department notifying him that ‘the date of birth, place of birth, name, or sex was corrected on your passport application,’ with ‘sex’ circled in red. The stated reason was ‘to correct your information to show your biological sex at birth.'”
“I, like many transgender people, experience fear of harassment or violence when moving through public spaces, especially where a photo ID is required,” said Schlacter in the press release that announced the lawsuit. “My safety is further at risk because of my inaccurate passport. I am unwilling to subject myself and my family to the threat of harassment and discrimination at the hands of border officials or anyone who views my passport.”
Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June 2021 announced the State Department would begin to issue gender-neutral passports and documents for American citizens who were born overseas.
Dana Zzyym, an intersex U.S. Navy veteran who identifies as nonbinary, in 2015 filed a federal lawsuit against the State Department after it denied their application for a passport with an “X” gender marker. Zzyym in October 2021 received the first gender-neutral American passport.
Lambda Legal represented Zzyym.
The State Department policy took effect on April 11, 2022.
Trump signed his executive order shortly after he took office in January. Germany, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands are among the countries that have issued travel advisories for trans and nonbinary people who plan to visit the U.S.
A federal judge in Boston earlier this month issued a preliminary injunction against the executive order. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of seven trans and nonbinary people.
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