INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a lesbian’s lawsuit against Ivy Tech Community College because federal law doesn’t protect people who claim workplace discrimination because of sexual orientation.
A three-judge panel of 7th U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a complaint filed by Kimberly Hively of South Bend, a former part-time Ivy Tech instructor who said the college didn’t hire her full-time because she’s a lesbian.
However, the ruling criticized the lack of sexual orientation in workplace protections guaranteed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The judges said that change must come from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling or a new federal law.
Hively’s attorney, Greg Nevins, tells The Indianapolis Star she’s disappointed and weighing her options.