Rainbows over ERISA: Title VII, the LGBT community and employer group health plans

More than 50 years after Title VII barred discrimination for a multitude of reasons, including sex, a new Supreme Court ruling has shed light on the scope of the prohibition on sex-based discrimination: Does it extend to a person's sexual orientation and even sexual identity? If so, how does the ruling affect employer-based health insurance?

Scott and Ed welcome Paula Day, J.D., Lockton Benefits' new Director of HR Compliance Consulting, to discuss the court decision and the implications for the future of group insurance.

• Why did the anti-civil rights champion Rep. Howard Smith (D-VA) add the word "sex" as a protected class in his amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964? (Because he wanted to protect women, right?)
• Why did the EEOC initially view the ban on sex-based discrimination as an illegitimate ban, “conceived out of wedlock?”
• How much fun was “Ladies day in the House” in 1964?
• What exactly did the Supreme Court have to say about the three Title VII cases recently brought to them, addressing sexual orientation and identity?
• Could Ed really become a Supreme Court nominee?
• How does all of this play into the group health plan context?