HUD to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity

(HUD) today announced that it will administer and enforce the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. NYC Pride / gagnonm1993 Via Pixabay

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced in a press release today that it will administer and enforce the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) issued a memorandum stating that HUD interprets the Fair Housing Act to bar discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and directing HUD offices and recipients of HUD funds to enforce the Act accordingly. The memorandum begins implementation of the policy set forth in President Biden’s Executive Order 13988 on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation (Executive Order), which directed executive branch agencies to examine further steps that could be taken to combat such discrimination.

“Housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity demands urgent enforcement action,” said Acting Assistant Secretary of FHEO, Jeanine M. Worden. “That is why HUD, under the Biden Administration, will fully enforce the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. Every person should be able to secure a roof over their head free from discrimination, and the action we are taking today will move us closer to that goal.”

Candidate Biden made a campaign promise to the mother of an 8-year-old trans girl to flat out change the laws and he is being good to his word. The current rule vacates the rule by the previous administration which encouraged shelters to out and turn away transgender people on the basis of their gender identity.

Another Memphis Trans woman gunned down in the streets

Friends spontaneously switched from tears to joy in remembrance of Alejandra Leos.

Friday September 7th yet another Memphis transgender woman gunned down in the streets. In a highly commendable report, WREG noted that although earlier reports identified the victim as a man, her family members knew her a transgender woman.

A funeral is planned for Leos on Wednesday between 5:00-8:00p.m. at Hickory Hill Funeral Home.

Family members ask those who would like to help with funeral expenses to contact the funeral home directly.

If you know anything about her murder please Call Memphis crime stoppers at 528-cash

US Department of Labor reiterates, all transgender people will be protected by law

Published by Orrick, one of the world's top 20 law firms specializing in financial litigation.

On Tuesday, August 19, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a directive to "clarify that existing agency guidance on discrimination on the basis of sex . . . includes discrimination on the bases of gender identity and transgender status." This directive follows President Obama's Executive Order 13672, issued on July 21, 2014, amending existing orders to specifically prohibit federal contractors from discriminating based on gender identity.

Tuesday's directive specifically applies to federal contractors and subcontractors, but is also part of the Department's broader focus on cracking down on gender identity-based discrimination. On June 30, 2014, the DOL's Secretary announced that:

"DOL is updating its enforcement protocols and nondiscrimination guidance to clarify that DOL provides the full protection of the federal nondiscrimination laws that it enforces to individuals on the bases of gender identity and transgender status."

The directive also cites as support the EEOC's decision in Macy v. Holder, 2012 WL 1435995, in which the EEOC unanimously concluded that discrimination because a person is transgender is sex discrimination in violation of Title VII. In Macy, the EEOC determined that discrimination against a transgender employee can be a form of "sex stereotyping." Specifically, "disparate treatment of a transgender employee because he or she does not conform to the gender stereotypes associated with his or her biological sex is a form of sex discrimination" because it is "related to the sex of the victim." Moreover, the EEOC found that transgender discrimination constitutes sex discrimination "regardless of whether the discrimination was motivated by sex stereotyping or by some other reason related to the employee's gender identity, such as discomfort with the idea of a transition."

Tuesday's directive is part of a continuing trend by the Obama Administration to expand Title VII's protections to LGBT employees. These actions make clear that, moving forward, the DOL and the EEOC will construe discrimination based on "sex" under Title VII broadly enough to encompass discrimination based on gender identity and transgender status. Source mondaq.com