Title VII Protects LGBTQ and Transgender Employees.

On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States released its historical decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, holding that discrimination against gay or transgender workers is discrimination “because . . . of sex” under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Writing for a 6-3 majority, Justice Gorsuch concluded:

Ours is a society of written laws. Judges are not free to overlook plain statutory commands on the strength of nothing more than suppositions about intentions or guesswork about expectations. In Title VII, Congress adopted broad language making it illegal for an employer to rely on an employee’s sex when deciding to fire that employee. We do not hesitate to recognize today a necessary consequence of that legislative choice: An employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender defies the law.

More details about the decision, which was cheered by business groups and labor unions alike, is here. Ogletree Deakins attorneys will be conducting a webinar on the decision on June 23, 2020 at 12 noon Eastern. While the decision represents an enormous moment in civil rights jurisprudence, it does not completely close the chapter on the push for LGBTQ equality in the United States. For example, the Buzz is taking note that the Equality Act is still pending in Congress and includes broader protections beyond the workplace