From the McClatchy-Tribune News Service in the Houston Chronicle and Employment Law 360 (free registration required):

A federal appeals court has ruled that the inability to have sex is a disability protected under federal anti-discrimination laws.

The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia came in the case of a U.S. foreign service candidate who was disqualified by the State Department after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The 2-1 opinion held that the woman’s inability to have sexual relations amounted to a disability protected under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits federal agencies from job discrimination against people who are disabled.

The new appellate-court ruling gives Piedmont, S.C., resident Kathy E. Adams another potential shot at serving overseas. More broadly, the ruling cracks open the courtroom door for additional legal challenges by those who are sexually incapacitated.

Adams wants to compel the State Department to hire her as a foreign service officer and provide back pay. She’ll now go before a jury and trial judge, unless the State Department relents first.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 at 9:19 am and is filed under cancer, disabilities, discrimination, sexuality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post