Supreme Court Case on LGBTQ Workplace Discrimination

Last Tuesday, the Supreme Court struggled to decide whether a 1964 civil rights law bars employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status. Currently, job discrimination against gay and transgender workers is legal in most of the fifty states. However, if the court decides to rule that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act also applies to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees, millions would gain access to basic protections. 

Title VII made it illegal to discriminate based on race, religion, national origin and sex. However, the question at hand is how the justices are going to interpret the term “sex”.

The court heard three cases involving the firing of three people. Gerald Bostock and Donald Zarda were both fired because of their sexual orientation. Another case involving Aimee Stephens examines whether or not it was legal for Stephens to be fired when she told her boss that she would start dressing as a woman.

All three of these individuals claim that their firings were illegal under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Congress has neglected to update Title VII to include the LGBT community. If Congress approves an expansion of Title VII to include employment protections for the LGBT community, people will not have to worry about what happens inside the courtroom. 

The decision to add protection for LGBT people would be a monumental step for many across the United States. It would open the door for inclusion, understanding, and true equality for LGBT Americans, regardless of their sex or sexual orientation.

Advocates have been continuously fighting for equal rights for the LGBT community, and if the Supreme Court or Congress decide to expand Title VII to include the LGBT community, a huge victory will be celebrated by many across the nation.