Summary Judgment Reversed In Sex Discrimination [Against Men] Case.

In 2006, the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department implemented a new policy prohibiting male deputies from supervising female inmates in the housing units of the jail operated by the County. In 2007, 35 deputies filed suit alleging the policy constitutes sex discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The federal trial judge granted summary judgment in favor of the County. The Ninth Circuit reversed, stating: “The fact that the Policy seeks to advance such important goals as inmate safety is not, by itself, sufficient to permit discrimination on the basis of sex. When moving for summary judgment, the County bears the heavy burden of showing that there are no genuine issues of material fact as to whether excluding male deputies because of their sex is a legitimate substitute for excluding them because they are actually unfit to serve in the female housing pods.” (Ambat v. City and County of San Francisco  (Ninth Cir. July 2, 2014) 757 F.3d 1017.)