RFRA successfuly invoked to fire transgender employee

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The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) was succcessful used by a Michigan funeral home to argue that there were legally permitted to fire a MTF transitioning employee.

The ACLU LGBT attorney responded: "Essentially, the judge has said that the funeral home, even one that is not a particularly religious operation, can be exempted from civil rights law with regard to transgender people,” Kaplan said".

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/l ... /88956760/
http://reason.com/blog/2016/08/19/relig ... essfully-i

Here in Australia conservative politicians have also recently launched a war on transgender children by removing education programs making mainstream kids aware of transgender to minimise bullying and suicide

The ignorant are still in charge

Had a quick Google. As I expected, they're worrying about brainwashing, indoctrination, etc. As I expected. And these are legitimate concerns.

However, that's not what I'm primarily interested in talking about. Bullies don't bully because of ignorance. Ignorance might produce unintentionally hurtful remarks and actions, but that is not bullying. Bullying is sustained abuse with intent.

I got bullied at school. Just about the last thing I would have wanted would be my bullies to have been put into an autism awareness anti-bullying class. All that would have done would be give them the knowledge with which to greatly improve the effectiveness of their bullying techniques. And they would have. I fail to see how a transgender course for the purposes of anti-bullying could possibly be a positive thing. It's more clear cut I would say for trans than autism what you could hurt them with too. Unless someone can tell me why such a course would stop bullies from bullying, I think the conservatives did trans kids a favour.

So, this ex employee was fired for wanting to dress as a woman? That's all?

Yes.

The Funeral Home has a sex-specific dress code, "that requires female employees to wear a skirt-suit and requires males to wear a pants-suit with a neck tie".

Stephens wanted to dress as a woman.

"The EEOC took the position that Stephens has a Title VII right to "dress as a woman" (ie., dress in a stereotypical feminine manner) while working at the Funeral Home, in order to express Stephens's gender identity".

The judge made a strange interpretation that "the Court fails to see why the EEOC couldn't propose a gender-neutral dress code as a reasonable accommodation that would be a less restrictive means of furthering that goal".

So, the judge totally ignores the fact that Stephens is a woman.

I imagine this judgement could be overturned on appeal.

The laws pertaining to employment dress codes, public toilets and sport are all deliberately inflexible with transgender issues as they was written by conservative intolerant christian white men in suites *shock horror!*

It's both...the ignorance in part stems from intentionally avoiding social contact with people whom are deemed too different or socially risky to affiliate/associate with (heaven forbid!)


As somebody who was bullied myself (prior to the social media age) the moment I clocked on in the school yard to the moment I clocked out I don't really relate to your suggestion. Anything that involves detention or education programs is better than any extra time (than necessary) exposing victims to these little pricks in the school yard.


The conservatives like picking on minority groups. Difference is bad, conformity is good ref: George Orwell's "Animal Farm"

Well I think the L, G and B are pretty normalised now in today's society and the T is on its way. But you can't make people socialise with people. Social standing is a big deal in school and you can't blame people for playing it safe.

Did your bullies not probe you for things that hurt you then latch on to those things once they found them? Did they not find nerves to hit then keep hitting them?

The way I see it the only anti-bullying programming you need in school is the one that tells everyone if they do it they'll (figuratively) get their balls busted. Bullying is wrong. It doesn't matter who is being bullied or why.

Maybe I don't understand the nature of the programme? It sounds to me like they take everyone through it. It should only be for bullies, and even then I think it's going to do more harm than good. The motives of conservatives don't matter if the programme won't actually do what it's supposed to do.

Yes they often did. Now that i look back they seemed to be quite imaginative on the various types of torture they could think up.


Yes agreed


I think the intention behind removing the program was not really for any one's benefit but their own. Cory Bernardi is a fundamentalist christian politician who see's legalising gay marriage and recognising LGBT rights as ushering in a new biblical "Sodom and Gommorrah". If he had his way people who classify themselves as LGBT would be involuntarily put in institutions and given shock treatment to cure them.

f*****g states need to stop accommodating religion.

So now you see where I'm coming from? Educate bullies on their victims and you make things a whole lot easier for them.

So in this case even if their motives were entirely self-serving, I think they did the trans kids a favour.

Whatever measures are taken, people will never respect those who can't defend themselves on their own. Trying to escape the law of the jungle doesn't work, and will only be perceived as a cowardly attempt to cheat.

If your school is under the law of the jungle, then your school is an utter failure.