The Supreme Court declared today that the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBTQ employees from workplace discrimination. In a trio of cases Altitude Express v. Zarda, case number 17-1623;
Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, case number 17-1618
; and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission et al., case number 18-107 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects gay and transgender workers against employment discrimination because of their sex.
In each of these three cases, an employer allegedly fired a long-time employee simply for being homosexual 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 she informed her employer that she planned to “live and work full-time as a woman.” Each employee sued, alleging sex 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 dismissed Mr. Bostock’s suit as a matter of law. The Second and Sixth Circuits, however, allowed the claims of Mr. Zarda and Ms. Stephens, respectively, to proceed. That split is what set up the three cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
