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Rival Gaza protest groups clash at UCLA; IL farmers on costly hold amid legislative foot-dragging; classes help NY psychologists understand disabled people's mental health; NH businesses, educators: anti-LGBTQ bills hurting kids, economy.

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Ukraine receives much-needed U.S. aid, though it's just getting started. Protesting college students are up in arms about pro-Israel stances. And, end-of-life care advocates stand up for minors' gender-affirming care in Montana.

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More rural working-age people are dying young compared to their urban counterparts, the internet was a lifesaver for rural students during the pandemic but the connection has been broken for many, and conservationists believe a new rule governing public lands will protect them for future generations.

Nebraska Leads Effort to Deny Trans Workers' Job Protections

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Thursday, August 30, 2018   

LINCOLN, Neb. – A group of 16 states, led by Nebraska, has filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to confirm that businesses can fire people for being transgender.

States want to reverse an appeals court ruling that a funeral home in Michigan discriminated against a worker who transitioned during employment.

Danielle Conrad, executive director of the ACLU of Nebraska, says it's clear that the termination was made because of arbitrary factors not based on job performance.

"We strongly believe that Attorney General Doug Peterson does not speak for all Nebraskans who are, in fact, fair minded, and we really feel that this effort is out of step with Nebraska values," she states.

The states claim that gender identity is a completely different concept from "sex," and argue the lower court was wrong to rule that identity is protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, a federal law that prohibits employers from discrimination based on sex, race, color, national origin and religion.

Conrad disagrees, and notes there's a growing consensus from courts across the U-S that gender identity and expression are protected.

"There is an emerging and strong body of case law where court after court has found that employment discrimination based upon who somebody is and who somebody loves is wrong, and it flies in the face of our principles of fairness," she stresses.

Conrad adds that Nebraska's attorney general also is out of step with the business community when it comes to fair treatment in the workplace, and notes business groups have supported non-discrimination laws in the state Legislature.

Eli Rigatuso is a transgender LGBT advocate and co-founder of the Omaha group Heartland Pride. He says he's concerned that Nebraska's role in the amicus brief could put the state on the map as a leader in hate.

"It's disappointing to me, as a transgender human being, that they would want to make it OK for people to fire me just because I'm trans," he states.

Nebraska currently has no laws on the books that provide explicit statewide non-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender people.


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