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A significant ruling in 2020 has set a precedent for protecting the rights of transgender workers.
There has been only one significant ruling by the Supreme Court regarding transgender rights, which is the case of Bostock v. Clayton County.
The 2020 ruling determined that a significant civil rights law safeguards gay and transgender employees from discrimination in the workplace.
Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, who was appointed to the court by President Trump, stated in a 6-3 ruling that it is against the law for an employer to terminate someone based solely on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the court’s liberal wing also supported this decision.
The combined majority opinion and two dissents were a total of 168 pages long. President Donald J. Trump told reporters that he agreed with the ruling. He mentioned that although some people were surprised by the decision, he respected it and would abide by it. Trump also noted that he found the decision to be particularly impactful.
The justices were tasked with interpreting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, religion, national origin, and sex. They needed to determine if this prohibition on discrimination based on sex also extended to gay and transgender employees, affecting millions of workers.
Justice Gorsuch stated that it was indeed the case
The writer stated that if an employer dismisses someone for being gay or transgender, they are essentially firing them for characteristics or behaviors that they would not have had an issue with if the person belonged to a different gender.
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. disagreed with the argument, stating that he found it incredibly arrogant. He also pointed out that there is no evidence to suggest that any member of Congress understood the law in the way it is being interpreted now when it was passed in 1964.
The law that was in place banned discrimination in the workplace based on gender. However, the case being discussed focuses on the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause, which is broad in scope and is used to create a framework for analysis rather than specific rules. Justice Alito mentioned in 2020 that the court’s decision in this case could have a significant impact on future constitutional cases.
Adam Liptak is a journalist who specializes in covering the Supreme Court and writing about legal news in his column called Sidebar. He attended Yale Law School and worked as a lawyer for 14 years before starting his career at The New York Times in 2002. To learn more about Adam Liptak, visit his profile.
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