The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit in January ruled in favor of an ex-firefighter, who is lesbian and won an $800,000 jury award plus attorney fees, NBC News reports. That court ruled that federal anti-discrimination law covers gay and lesbian workers in instances where they allege they faced discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender.

Lori Franchina, who worked as a firefighter in Providence, R.I., had argued that she encountered constant harassment and abuse from her male co-workers for being a woman and lesbian. She initially filed her suit in federal court in 2012.

In the Appeals' Court ruling in January, Judge Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson wrote on behalf of the majority that "the abuse Lori Franchina suffered at the hands of the Providence Fire Department is nothing short of abhorrent."

"As this case demonstrates, employers should be cautioned that turning a blind eye to blatant discrimination does not generally fare well under anti-discrimination laws like Title VII," Thompson wrote.

Franchina alleged that she faced verbal and physical harassment and retaliation after she decided to file complaints. The abuse started in 2006 after Franchina was promoted to lieutenant, she alleged.
Franchina "was also spit on, shoved, and--in one particular horrifying incident--had the blood and brain matter of a suicide-attempt victim flung at her by a member of her own team," the judge noted.

A city of Providence spokesperson said they won't appeal the ruling and maintained that the city is committed to promoting a harassment- and discrimination-free workplace. The court termed the harassment Franchina faced as a "sex-plus claim."

"In short, 'sex-plus claims' are a flavor of gender discrimination claims where 'an employer classifies employees on the basis of sex plus another characteristic," the ruling noted.

The 1st Circuit decision "really cracked the door open" to understanding "sexual-orientation discrimination as a form of sexual discrimination," says Anthony Kreis, a professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law.

But federal courts are not unified on the issue. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in April of last year ruled that Kimberly Hively, an Indiana educator, was fired because of her sexual orientation and that she was entitled to Title VII protection. The case, Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College, is considered a landmark ruling.

But the 11th Circuit had decided not to hear a case involving a Georgia security guard alleging employment discrimination based on her sexuality and gender-nonconformity. In that case, Evans v. Georgia Regional Hospital, the Supreme Court also decided not to take up the case.

Last year in California, an amended law required that already existing mandatory harassment training include LGBT workers for employers' supervisors if they employ 50 or more staff, HR Dive reported.

That training is required within six months of being hired with retraining every two year. The requirement took effect Jan. 1.

A CareerBuilder survey last year found that 40% of LGBT workers reported feeling bullied at work. That was 11% higher than the national average. And 56% of LGBT workers who have experienced bullying said it has happened repeatedly.

For fiscal 2017, from Oct. 1, 2016 to Sept. 30, 2017, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported that all charges, including sexual harassment, were down compared to the prior fiscal year, Lexology reports. Pre-litigation monetary relief from LGBT cases has gone up every year since fiscal 2015.

One important note about the latest EEOC figures is that fiscal 2017 ended just about when the #MeToo revelations really took off.