On July 28, 2022, in Rouch World v. Michigan Department of Civil Rights, the Michigan Supreme Court held that Michigan’s civil rights statute, the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
The Court’s ruling is hardly a surprise given the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, 140 S. Ct. 1731 (2020), which similarly held that the federal civil rights statute, Title VII, protects gay, lesbian and transgender employees from discrimination based on sex. The Michigan Supreme Court’s opinion is important because it adds protections to employees at the state level, and as a result employers are more susceptible to state law claims. Employers would be wise to adjust their employee handbooks accordingly.
In Rouch World, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) investigated two acts of sex-based discrimination. The one that made it before the Michigan Supreme Court involved Rouch World, which operated an event center in Sturgis, Michigan. Two women contacted Rouch World to arrange to have their wedding at its venue. Rouch World, however, refused, citing the company’s owners’ religious beliefs.
The case found its way through the Michigan courts and ended up before the Michigan Supreme Court to answer the question of whether the ELCRA’s prohibition on discrimination “because of … sex” applies to discrimination based on sexual orientation. A central part of the Court’s analysis was...
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