The Kansas Human Rights (KHRC) Commission Board met on August 21, 2020, to consider the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County and its impact on the KHRC’s interpretation of the Kansas Act Against Discrimination.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Bostock determined that Title VII’s “sex” discrimination prohibition includes employment discrimination on the basis of homosexuality and transgender status. Effective as of August 21st, the Kansas Human Rights Commission will begin accepting complaints of “sex” discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations wherein allegations include discrimination based on LGBTQ and all derivates of “sex”.

A guidance document will be forthcoming that the Kansas Act Against Discrimination’s employment, housing, and public accommodation anti-discrimination provisions for “sex” are inclusive of LGBTQ and all derivates of “sex”. The guidance document will be submitted to the Commission Board for their review and approval at a date in the near future, but yet to be determined. The guidance will be issued pursuant to K.S.A. 77-438. We will send out another notification when the guidance document is posted to the Commission’s website of www.khrc.net.

Ruth Glover

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