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Rouch World, LLC v. Dep't of Civ. Rights

Rouch World, LLC v. Dep't of Civ. Rights

Supreme Court of Michigan

March 2, 2022, Argued; July 28, 2022, Decided; July 28, 2022, Filed

No. 162482

Opinion

BEFORE THE ENTIRE BENCH

CLEMENT, J.

At issue for our consideration is whether the prohibition of discrimination "because of . . . sex" in the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (the ELCRA), MCL 37.2101 et seq., encompasses discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. We hold that it does. Accordingly, we overrule the Court of Appeals decision in Barbour v Dep't of Social Servs, 198 Mich. App. 183, 185; 497 N.W.2d 216 (1993), and reverse in part the Court of Claims decision below.

I. LEGAL BACKGROUND

This case concerns acts of alleged discrimination investigated by defendant, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (the MDCR). The MDCR is an administrative agency that serves as the operational arm of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission (the MCRC). See MCL 16.575 through MCL 16.577. The MCRC is a constitutional body whose purpose is to secure constitutional and statutory guarantees against discrimination and investigate allegations that those guarantees have been violated. Const 1963, art 5, § 29.

] Among the legal guarantees against discrimination enforced by the MCRC is the statutory guarantee against [*2]  discrimination provided by the ELCRA. The ELCRA recognizes as a civil right "[t]he opportunity to obtain employment, housing and other real estate, and the full and equal utilization of public accommodations, public service, and educational facilities without discrimination because of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status . . . ." MCL 37.2102(1). Through the recognition and protection of this civil right, the ELCRA seeks to dismantle "the prejudices and biases borne against persons because of their membership in a certain class, and seeks to eliminate the effects of offensive or demeaning stereotypes, prejudices, and biases." Miller v C A Muer Corp, 420 Mich 355, 363; 362 NW2d 650 (1984) (quotation marks and citations omitted).

The ELCRA specifically protects against discrimination in public accommodations1 as follows:

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2022 Mich. LEXIS 1487 *; 2022 WL 3007805

ROUCH WORLD, LLC, and UPROOTED ELECTROLYSIS, LLC, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL RIGHTS and DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL RIGHTS, Defendants-Appellants.

Prior History: Rouch World, LLC v. Dep't of Civ. Rights, 954 N.W.2d 212, 2021 Mich. LEXIS 222, 2021 WL 659278 (Mich., Feb. 19, 2021)

CORE TERMS

sex, sexual orientation, but-for, discriminate, motivation, female, gender, animus, causation, homosexual, words, Dictionary, biological, woman, majority opinion, sexual, fires, attracted, bias, sexual-orientation, encompassed, cases, male, transgender, discriminatory action, discriminatory motive, prohibits, protected class, employees, statutory language

Civil Rights Law, Fair Housing Rights, Protected Classes, National Origin Discrimination, Labor & Employment Law, Discrimination, Disparate Treatment, Family Status Discrimination, Protection of Rights, Public Versus Private Discrimination, Gender & Sex Discrimination, Scope & Definitions, Gender Stereotypes, Racial Discrimination, Administrative Law, Agency Rulemaking, Rule Application & Interpretation, Binding Effect, Judicial Review, Standards of Review, Deference to Agency Statutory Interpretation, Civil Procedure, Defenses, Demurrers & Objections, Motions to Dismiss, Failure to State Claim, Appeals, De Novo Review, Governments, Legislation, Interpretation, Actionable Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Sexual Harassment, Sexual Orientation, Public Facilities, Enforcement Actions, Scope, Business & Corporate Compliance, Harassment, Civil Enforcement Actions, Same-Sex Harassment, Parental Rights & Pregnancy, Gender & Sex Discrimination