North America

Abortion-providing physicians in Arkansas filed a 18 USC §1983 action in District Court seeking a permanent injunction against Arkansas Code Ann §20?16?1203(a), which revokes the license of physicians who perform abortions of fetuses beyond the point when the fetal heartbeat can be detected, about 12 weeks. The physicians were granted the injunction, and the State appealed. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the injunction, finding that this statute violated women’s right to terminate pregnancy as set out in Roe v. Wade, which allows for abortion up to the point of fetal viability.

In Edwards v. Ohio Institute of Cardiac Care, 170 Ohio App.3d 619 (2007), the plaintiff, a scheduler, received frequent inappropriate emails and physical contact from her supervisor, including touching on the shoulder and lower back. After she reported the behavior, she began receiving tardiness notices and was terminated, allegedly for changing clothes at work before the Fourth of July weekend. She sued for sexual harassment and retaliation in the Greene County Court of Common Pleas. A jury found in her favor on harassment but for the employer on retaliation.

The plaintiff-appellant, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, initiated sexual harassment and retaliation claims under Title VII against New Breed Logistics, the defendant, on behalf of three employees. The plaintiff alleged that Calhoun, a supervisor at New Breed sexually harassed three female employees and then retaliated against the women after they complained. The plaintiff further alleged that Calhoun retaliated against a male employee who verbally objected to Calhoun’s harassment of the women.

The plaintiff -appellant was the “head golf professional” at the Congress Lake Golf Club. Despite her formidable golfing pedigree, the club’s board of directors requested her resignation, ostensibly because of her inability to manage various golf programs. She sued the defendant for sex discrimination in the Stark County Court of Common Pleas. The Court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant, but the Court of Appeals of Ohio reversed, finding that there was an issue of fact as to whether the golf club’s proffered legitimate reason for her termination were pretextual.

A Massachusetts statute made it illegal to give “drugs, medicine, instrument or article whatever for the prevention of contraception” to any unmarried person. The plaintiff, found guilty of violating the statute, challenged its constitutionality, claiming it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14^th Amendment. The Court held that a statute preventing unmarried people from obtaining contraception was unconstitutional.

In Eknes-Tucker v. Governor of the State of Alabama, 80 F.4th 1205 (11th Cir. 2023), the U.S.

In Elaine W. v. Joint Diseases North General Hospital, 81 N.Y.2d 211 (1993), pregnant women who were denied admission to an inpatient detoxification program challenged the hospital’s categorical exclusion as sex discrimination under New York State's  Human Rights Law. The hospital defended its policy on safety grounds, asserting that it lacked obstetrical services and could not treat any pregnant patient.

The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act declares that the opportunity to obtain employment, housing, education, and the full use of public accommodations is a civil right. The Act prohibits discrimination in these areas based on religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, height, weight, familial status, or marital status. It further provides protections against retaliation for opposing discriminatory practices or participating in related proceedings.

Plaintiff and Defendant were married in 1998 but entered into a separation agreement in 2007.  Plaintiff and Defendant were living together.  They were discussing work that needed to be done around the house when defendant husband requested that the wife look at the door sweep.  The wife bent down to look and subsequently could not recall anything that took place until she woke up around 3:00 am and found herself in bed with a “terrible headache” and extreme nausea.  Defendant told her that she had had a seizure and had hit her head.  She went to the hospital. 

In the case Emilee Carpenter LLC v. James, a professional photographer, Emilee Carpenter, challenged New York’s public-accommodations statutes (under the Human Rights Law and Civil Rights Law) after indicating she would decline to provide wedding-photography services for same-sex couples due to her religious and personal beliefs about marriage.