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A significant ruling in 2020 set a precedent for protecting the rights of transgender workers.
There has been only one significant ruling on transgender rights by the Supreme Court, known as Bostock v. Clayton County.
In 2020, a ruling stated that a significant civil rights law safeguards gay and transgender employees from discrimination in the workplace.
Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, appointed by President Trump, stated that it is against the law for an employer to fire someone for being gay or transgender. This ruling was supported by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the court’s liberal wing at the time.
The main opinion and two opposing views together filled 168 pages. President Donald J. Trump told reporters that he agreed with the decision made by the court. He mentioned that some people were taken aback by the ruling, but he accepted it. Trump also commented that he believed it was a strong decision.
The justices were tasked with interpreting a law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, that prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, religion, national origin, and sex. They needed to determine if this prohibition against discrimination "because of sex" also extended to gay and transgender employees, potentially impacting millions of workers.
Justice Gorsuch stated that it was indeed the case
The writer stated that when an employer fires someone for being homosexual or transgender, they are essentially firing them for characteristics or behaviors that they would not have found issue with if the individual belonged to a different gender.
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. disagreed with the argument, stating that he found it to be very arrogant. He also mentioned that there is no proof that any member of Congress understood the text of the law in that way when it was passed in 1964.
The law that was discussed banned discrimination in the workplace based on a person’s sex. The case being debated focuses on the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, which is broadly written and is used to set up a framework for analysis instead of strict rules. In a previous statement, Justice Alito mentioned that the court’s ruling 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 graduated from Yale Law School and worked as a lawyer for 14 years before starting at The New York Times in 2002. To learn more about Adam Liptak, visit his page.
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