06/15/2020
Supreme Court Rules Homos*xuality and Transgender Status are Legally Protected under Title VII
This morning the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, (U.S. Supreme Court, No. 17-1618, June 15, 2020). The Court held that an employer who fires an individual for being gay or transgender violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The case is a collection of three appeals, and in each of these cases, an employer allegedly fired a long-time employee simply for being homos*xual or transgender. Clayton County, Georgia, fired Gerald Bostock for conduct “unbecoming” a county employee shortly after he began participating in a gay recreational softball league. Altitude Express fired Donald Zarda days after he mentioned being gay. And R. G. & G. R. Harris Funeral Homes fired Aimee Stephens, who presented as a male when she was hired, after which she informed her employer that she planned to “live and work full-time as a woman.” Each employee sued, alleging s*x discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Eleventh Circuit held that Title VII does not prohibit employers from firing employees for being gay and so Mr. Bostock’s suit could be dismissed as a matter of law. The Second and Sixth Circuits, however, allowed the claims of Mr. Zarda and Ms. Stephens, respectively, to proceed.
Justice Gorsuch’s opinion holds that homos*xuality and transgender status are inextricably bound up with s*x. In effect, s*x is a “but for” cause of the discrimination inherent in discharging transgender or homos*xual employees on the basis of their s*xual orientation or gender identity. Accordingly, discharging an employee on the basis of s*xual orientation or gender identity is discharge on the basis of s*x, and therefore a violation of the terms of Title VII. His opinion was joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan. Justice Alito filed a dissenting opinion in which Justice Thomas joined. Justice Kavanaugh filed a dissenting opinion of his own.
The decision extends the reach of Title VII to all claims involving discrimination on the basis of s*xual orientation and gender identity in employment.
