Wendy McGuire Coats (JD '05) publishes "What is sex? Expanding LGBT rights under Title VII" -- Los Angeles Daily Journal

May 2, 2017 | By Kylie Larkin -- Pepperdine Law alumna Wendy McGuire Coats (JD '05) has co-authored an article, "What is sex?: Expanding LGBT rights under Title VII," which was published in the April 25 issue of the Los Angeles Daily Journal. The article provides analysis on the recent 7th Circuit decision in Hively v Ivy Tech Community College. Coats is a partner and appellate counsel in the San Francisco office of Fisher Phillips.

Excerpt from "What is sex?: Expanding LGBT rights under Title VII":

Earlier this month, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ground-breaking, full en banc panel decision, holding that discrimination based on an employee's sexual orientation is sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College. The court's decision also criticized 33-year-old precedent denying Title VII  protections to "transsexual" (transgender) employees.  In so doing, Hively could serve as a springboard to expand Title VII's protections not only to gay, lesbian and bisexual employees, but also to transgender employees.