A former high school student who was a football player at McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio recently filed a lawsuit after he was forced to eat pepperoni pizza. Eating pork is against his family’s religious beliefs, so school officials violated his civil rights, the suit claims. The Basis of the Pepperoni Pizza Lawsuit The Read More

The US House of Representatives recently passed the Equality Act, which is designed to protect LGBTQ individuals from discrimination that occurs in housing, public accommodations, the workplace and other arenas. First introduced in 2015, the bill also expands public accommodation protections to include discrimination based on sex as well as strengthens other protections. By expanding Read More

A Michigan state commission recently determined that protections against discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation are included in Michigan’s current ban on sex discrimination. This recent decision came after a 5-0 vote by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission approving this interpretation of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. As a result of this decision, Read More

In two letters from August, 41 House and Senate members urged the Michigan Civil Rights Commission to adopt an interpretive statement to expand a law’s application. Concurrently, the group Equality Michigan asked the commission to contemplate whether they should investigate sexual orientation and gender identity complaints under the definition of sex discrimination that is already Read More

  A group of newly signed pro-trans bills includes a law that public schools in New Jersey will not be able to force transgender students to use bathrooms or locker rooms that conflict with their gender identities. Instead, public schools are required to offer reasonable alternative arrangements to make sure that students remain safe and Read More

  In a recent action that has significant impact for individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, the Justice Department filed a brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit arguing that federal civil rights laws do not protect individuals from discrimination due to their gender identity or sexual Read More

What is the difference between civil hate and criminal hate? Other than the obvious types of penalties, these two forms of hatred are more similar than many people want to admit. Sure, a criminal action typically involves physical bodily harm to a person or their property, but are not a person’s mental and emotional well-being Read More