The basic plot of the movie is that Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) is an in the closet homosexual and working for a large law firm in Philadelphia. His partners discover that he is gay, and as a result set him up to be fired.
Beckett sues and wins.
So my question is, what was the basis of the law suit? Could that have happened in Pennsylvania in 1993? Could it happen in another state? Could it happen now?
To my understanding, homosexuality is still not a protected class, so does that not mean that someone in an at will employment state can say, "Oh, you’re gay? Sorry, we don’t allow gays to work here. Don’t want you getting your gay all over everything.’
Honest questions. I’m trying to understand how the laws are applied.
The basic plot of the movie is that Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) is an in the closet homosexual and working for a large law firm in Philadelphia. His partners discover that he is gay, and as a result set him up to be fired.
Beckett sues and wins.
So my question is, what was the basis of the law suit? Could that have happened in Pennsylvania in 1993? Could it happen in another state? Could it happen now?
To my understanding, homosexuality is still not a protected class, so does that not mean that someone in an at will employment state can say, "Oh, you’re gay? Sorry, we don’t allow gays to work here. Don’t want you getting your gay all over everything.’
Honest questions. I’m trying to understand how the laws are applied.
Seems like no lawyers are responding, so I’ll say what I think I know…
Aid victims would be a protected class under the Americans with Disabilities Act. I’m not sure when the court case happened that established that precedent, but I think it must have happened before 1993 (otherwise the story would have been about establishing the precedent instead of the law firm lying about the real reasons).
My limited understanding from having dated a few hr professionals is that he could be fired and as long as he was told it was because of restructuring, downsizing or moving in a different direction the company would probably get away with it.
If they told him he was fired because he was gay there would likely be grounds for a lawsuit.
It was already answered, but, I can confirm, Beckett’s suit was based on disability discrimination, which was protected under the American’s With Disabilities Act (ADA). The film was based on the lives of Geoffrey Bowers and Clarence Cain. In 1987, Bowers, an attorney, suied the firm Baker McKenzie for wrongful termination in one of the first AIDS discrimination cases in the US.
Today, many states have included sexual orientation as a protected class. In addition, Danno provided a link to the EEOC website. Despite the fact that sexual orientation is not a specifically named protected class under federal law, the EEOC has taken the position discrimination based on sexual orientation is protected under Title VII’s prohibition against gender discrimination. Not all federal court agree with this position, however.