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But, is it discrimination if the employer could care less what the applicant's sex is, and only decided on whether the spouse was female? Edit: So the company

But, is it discrimination if the employer could care less what the applicant's sex is, and only decided on whether the spouse was female? Edit: So the company has only employees that are either: not married, or only married to a male. How does this apply?

intopieces 6y ago
The answer to that question would depend on how the employer has treated other applicants of the opposite gender in same situation (that is, being married to a female). The law hinges on disparate treatment; it does not account for what the employer cares about.
intopieces 6y ago
There isn't precedent for discrimination based on the gender of spouse specifically. In general, to answer the question "Is it discrimination?" It's helpful to apply the replacement test: if it were someone else who differed in only one non-work related aspect, would that person receive the same outcome? I think what you're trying to get at in your edit is more in line with Pre-Employment Inquiries and Marital Status. [0]. The EEOC puts it this way: "It is clearly discriminatory to ask such questions only of women and not men (or vice-versa). Even if asked of both men and women, such questions may be seen as evidence of intent to discriminate against, for example, women with children." There established precedent for "sex-plus" discrimination [1], whereby the claimants sex "plus" another factor brings it closer to a Title VII claim. The TL;DR answer to your question is that nobody has brought a case (that I can find) with those particular details, but you can't treat men differently than women and vice-versa, and that includes gay and trans men and women [0]https://www.eeoc.gov/pre-employment-inquiries-and-marital-status-or-number-children https://www.eeoc.gov/pre-employment-inquiries-and-marital-st... [1]https://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/52309/title-vii-sex-discrimination-can-include-marital-status/ https://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/52309/title-vii-sex-...

intopieces 6y ago

The answer to that question would depend on how the employer has treated other applicants of the opposite gender in same situation (that is, being married to a female). The law hinges on disparate treatment; it does not account for what the employer cares about.

intopieces 6y ago

There isn't precedent for discrimination based on the gender of spouse specifically. In general, to answer the question "Is it discrimination?" It's helpful to apply the replacement test: if it were someone else who differed in only one non-work related aspect, would that person receive the same outcome? I think what you're trying to get at in your edit is more in line with Pre-Employment Inquiries and Marital Status. [0]. The EEOC puts it this way: "It is clearly discriminatory to ask such questions only of women and not men (or vice-versa). Even if asked of both men and women, such questions may be seen as evidence of intent to discriminate against, for example, women with children." There established precedent for "sex-plus" discrimination [1], whereby the claimants sex "plus" another factor brings it closer to a Title VII claim. The TL;DR answer to your question is that nobody has brought a case (that I can find) with those particular details, but you can't treat men differently than women and vice-versa, and that includes gay and trans men and women [0]https://www.eeoc.gov/pre-employment-inquiries-and-marital-status-or-number-children https://www.eeoc.gov/pre-employment-inquiries-and-marital-st... [1]https://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/52309/title-vii-sex-discrimination-can-include-marital-status/ https://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/52309/title-vii-sex-...