SEX AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION
 

It is illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of gender or sex. For example, your boss may not encourage male employees to speak out at meetings and ask you as a woman to refill his coffee, despite you holding the same position as the male employees. Many people believe that sex discrimination only refers to males discriminating against females. However, sex discrimination includes any employee discriminating against you on the basis of sex, including females discriminating against males, males discriminating against males and females discriminating against females. 
 
Examples of sex discrimination may include:

  • Your boss refers to you by derogatory or offensive names based on your sex
  • Your employer disciplines male employees for taking personal calls from their children but allow female employees to take such calls without repercussion
  • Your coworkers mimic or taunt you because the way you talk or act is not “manly” enough
  • Your coworkers mimic or taunt you because the way you talk or act is not “womanly” enough
  • Your boss meets your male counterparts out for drinks after work to discuss business but refuses to invite you
  • Your employer only promotes males to positions of power within the company 
In addition, under Iowa law, employers may not discriminate against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Not all states make it illegal to discriminate against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, nor does the federal government. 
 
Examples of discrimination or harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity may include:

  • Your employer uses or allows your coworkers to use offensive terms that refer to being gay, lesbian or bisexual
  • Your employer learns of your sexual orientation and fires you
  • An employer refuses to hire you because you do not “fit the image” they want to portray, even though you are qualified for the job
  • You are mimicked, teased and ridiculed about your partner
Employees and coworkers can also retaliate against you based on your sex, sexual orientation or gender identity. Please refer to the “Retaliation” page under the “Understanding Your Rights” section of this website.  
  
All information on our website is meant to be generally informative. To find out whether you may have a case of sex or sexual orientation discrimination, you should consult a lawyer of your choice.

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Litigation
News & Events

9.13.11: Wall Street Journal Law Blog Class Action Trial Against the State of Iowa.pdf

9.29.10:  Des Moines Register - Employment bias lawsuit against state gets class-action status 

9.28.10:  KCCI Channel 8 - State Faces Class-Action Discrimination Lawsuit

9.28.10:  Chicago Tribune - Judge expands scope of Iowa hiring lawsuit

8.27.10:  Des Moines Register - 5 women sue toy firm, say they were harassed

8.26.10: Business Record - Toy distributor faces sexual harassment claims

8.26.10:  WHO-TV - Indianola toy company sued by former employees over claims of sexual harassment

9.29.09:  WHO-TV reports of ongoing discrimination in State government

9.17.09:  Findings of race discrimination removed from State of Iowa report

3.4.09:  Iowa Central Community College Settles Case with Mary Conrad

11.21.08: Ex-ISU Coach Awarded $287,000

7.19.08:  Lawsuit Against Iowa Central Community College Goes On

10.30.07: State of Iowa Sued for Widespread Race Discrimination 

3.12.08: Fairfield Worker Wins Wrongful Termination Case

10.11.06: State of Iowa Bias Against African American Employees

10.1.06: Employees Accuse Iowa Workforce Development of Racism

11.24.05: Eliserio v. United Steelworkers - Racial Discrimination Case 

7.15.05: Fattahi v. Iowa DOT - Discrimination Case

4.28.04: Fulkerson v. Borgen Systems - Sexual Harassment Case