Gerald Lynn Bostock: Difference between revisions
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'''Gerald Bostock''' was one of the petitioners in the landmark Supreme Court case ''[[Bostock v. Clayton County]]''. After working for the Georgia county for a period of ten years, Bostock joined a gay baseball team and was fired soon after for “conduct ‘unbecoming a county employee.”<ref>Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, 590 U.S. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/17-1618_hfci.pdf.</ref> Bostock subsequently sued for violation of [[Title VII]] of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], which protects against discrimination on the basis of sex in employment.<ref>Department of Labor, Legal Highlight: The Civil Rights Act of 1964, H.R. Rep. (). https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/civil-rights-center/statutes/civil-rights-act-of-1964#:~:text=In%201964%2C%20Congress%20passed%20Public,hiring%2C%20promoting%2C%20and%20firing.</ref> The Supreme Court sided with Bostock, ruling that discrimination on the basis of [[sexual orientation]] or [[gender identity]] was prohibited by Title VII. |
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[[File:Gerald Bostock Supreme Court October 8 2019.jpg|thumb|282x282px|On October 8, 2019, Gerald Bostock spoke before the Supreme Court, and in less than a year, ''Bostock v. Clayton County'' would defend individuals fired for being LGBTQ+. ]] |
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From 2003 to 2013, Bostock worked as a child welfare services coordinator for Clayton County’s Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program. He taught and allocated volunteers for children who were mistreated in court proceedings.<ref>Tim Teeman, "Gerald Bostock Was Fired. He Wants His Supreme Court Case to Help Change LGBTQ Rights in America.," Daily Beast, 1, https://www.thedailybeast.com/gerald-bostock-was-fired-he-wants-his-supreme-court-case-to-help-change-lgbtq-rights-in-america.</ref> In early 2013, Gerald Bostock joined a gay softball team, and he received “disparaging comments”<ref>Teeman, "Gerald Bostock," 1.</ref> for his participation in the Hotlanta Softball League and his sexuality.<ref>Samantha Schmidt, "Fired after joining a gay softball league, Gerald Bostock wins landmark Supreme Court case," Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/06/15/fired-after-joining-gay-softball-league-gerald-bostock-wins-landmark-supreme-court-case/.</ref> In June of 2013, Bostock arrived at work but could not enter the building, since his key card would not function.<ref>Teeman, "Gerald Bostock," 1.</ref> Bostock’s employers told him that he was fired for “conduct ‘unbecoming’ a county employee.”<ref>Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, 590 U.S. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/17-1618_hfci.pdf.</ref> Clayton County argued that his termination related to the mismanagement of funds determined in an audit.<ref name=":0">"Man who won gay rights case at Supreme Court agrees to settlement," NBC News, 1, https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/man-won-gay-rights-case-scotus-agrees-settlement-rcna55959.</ref> |
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A few months later, Gerald Bostock filed a discrimination charge with the [[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]] (EEOC). In 2016, he sued the county for violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.<ref>"Bostock v. Clayton County," Oyez, https://www.oyez.org/cases/2019/17-1618.</ref> The district court dismissed his suit, since it opposed the recent decision of ''Evans v. Georgia Regional Hospital'', 850 F.3d 1248 (11th Circuit 2017), which affirmed a 1979 decision that interpreted the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as not preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the workplace.<ref>"Bostock v. Clayton," Oyez.</ref> Gerald Bostock appealed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in July of 2018,<ref>Kate Brumback, "Court: Law doesn't bar sex-orientation discrimination on job," AP News, 1, https://apnews.com/article/lawsuits-us-news-us-supreme-court-courts-workplace-discrimination-1a09599156e54765bd962375916ab569.</ref> only to receive the same ruling and notes on procedural issues in Bostock’s appeal.<ref>"Bostock v. Clayton," Oyez.</ref> |
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When Gerald Bostock appealed to the Supreme Court as a petitioner, his case was combined with that of Donald Zarda (''[[Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda|Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda]]'')<ref>Mark Walsh, "Contentious Cases: The Court Will Take on Big Issues That Have Been Percolating for a While," ABA Journal, September/October 2019, 1, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A598928703/EAIM?u=athe67392&sid=bookmark-EAIM&xid=ec8292f7.</ref> and Aimee Stephens (''[[R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]]'')<ref>"R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC & Aimee Stephens," ACLU, https://www.aclu.org/cases/rg-gr-harris-funeral-homes-v-eeoc-aimee-stephens.</ref> under his name. In an interview with NBC News, Bostock expressed that he walked away “even more optimistic” for their victory after speaking before the Court.<ref>"Man who won gay rights case at Supreme Court agrees to settlement," NBC News, 1, https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/man-won-gay-rights-case-scotus-agrees-settlement-rcna55959.</ref> He also predicted the decision would be written by [[Neil Gorsuch]] in a “6-3 verdict.”<ref>"Man who won gay rights," 1.</ref> |
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On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court determined that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act “protects gay, lesbian, and transgender people from discrimination in employment.”<ref>"Court: LGBT workers protected by law," Associated Press, 1, https://basic.newspapers.com/image/779799798/?terms=%22Gerald%20Bostock%22&match=1.</ref> Brain Sutherland, Bostock’s attorney, argued that ''Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins at Thirty'', a case defending a woman denied partnership for her femininity,<ref>Sasha Buchert, "Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins at Thirty," Alliance for Justice, last modified May 1, 2019, accessed May 11, 2023, https://www.afj.org/article/price-waterhouse-v-hopkins-at-thirty/.</ref> protected individuals from discrimination based upon sex stereotyping,<ref>Tim Teeman, "Gerald Bostock Was Fired. He Wants His Supreme Court Case to Help Change LGBTQ Rights in America.," Daily Beast, 1, https://www.thedailybeast.com/gerald-bostock-was-fired-he-wants-his-supreme-court-case-to-help-change-lgbtq-rights-in-america.</ref> which applied “broadly” to include “same-sex sexual harassment.”<ref>Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, 590 U.S. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/17-1618_hfci.pdf</ref> When the Supreme Court published the decision, Gerald Bostock had to quickly get off a work call. The Supreme Court case page crashed, and when he finally got access to the first page, Bostock knew that they had won.<ref name=":0" /> |
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After Gerald Bostock won his case at the Supreme Court level, his suit went down to the lower courts. In November of 2022, the Clayton County Board of Commissioners approved an $825,000 settlement for Bostock.<ref>"Man who won gay rights," 1.</ref> |
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== Professional life == |
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Starting in 2003, Gerald Bostock served Clayton County as a child welfare services coordinator. He managed the training of volunteers to defend “at-risk children in the Clayton County juvenile system.”<ref>Teeman, "Gerald Bostock," 1.</ref> Attorney Sutherland noted that Bostock was an “incredibly effective employee,” winning “awards” for his work.<ref>Teeman, "Gerald Bostock," 1.</ref> Bostock would later comment that they served “100 percent of children in care.”<ref>Michael Schulman, "The Three People at the Center of the Landmark Supreme Court Decision," The New Yorker, 1, https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-three-people-at-the-center-of-the-landmark-supreme-court-decision.</ref> In 2013, Gerald Bostock began recruiting members of the Hotlanta Softball League to become Court Appointed Special Advocates.<ref>Schulman, "The Three," 1.</ref> In May of 2013, at least one coworker made negative comments about his sexuality and participation in a gay softball team during a meeting with an advisory board.<ref>Schmidt, "Fired after," 1.</ref> One day in June of 2013, he arrived to work and could not enter due to his key swipe being disabled.<ref>Schulman, "The Three," 1.</ref> After his leave, the CASA program was “no longer supplying a CASA volunteer for every child in the courts,” according to Gerald Bostock.<ref>Schulman, "The Three," 1.</ref> |
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Gerald Bostock attempted to find another job in child welfare services, but he could not get another interview in the field.<ref>Teeman, "Gerald Bostock," 1.</ref> Bostock later became a mental health counselor at Georgia Regional Hospital.<ref>Schulman, "The Three," 1.</ref> In an interview with the Daily Beast, he said, “I’m still making a difference but with adults, not children. I’ve always been a person who wanted to give back and make a positive difference in the community around me, but my passion was working with children, and that was the job I was good at. The program I ran had great success, and had national and statewide accolades—and having that passion taken away from you for doing nothing wrong is just hurtful.”<ref>Teeman, "Gerald Bostock," 1.</ref> |
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== Personal life == |
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When Bostock was fired from Clayton County’s Court Appointed Special Advocates program, he lost his medical insurace while he was in the process of recovering from prostate cancer,<ref>Schulman, "The Three," 1.</ref> and the “stress” from the Court case “alone prolonged” his “recovery.”<ref>Teeman, "Gerald Bostock," 1.</ref> Gerald Bostock commented, “without the support of my partner as well as my family and circle of friends, I don’t know if I would have had the strength and ability to do what I’ve done.”<ref>Teeman, "Gerald Bostock," 1.</ref> |
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== References == |
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[[Category:Living people]] |
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Latest revision as of 11:27, 29 May 2023
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