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A significant ruling in 2020 set a precedent for the protection of transgender workers.
The Supreme Court has made a significant ruling on transgender rights in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County.
The ruling, which came out in 2020, 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 in a 6-3 ruling that it is illegal for an employer to fire someone for being gay or transgender. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the four liberal members of the court also supported this decision.
The ruling consisted of a majority opinion and two dissents that totaled 168 pages. President Donald J. Trump told reporters that he accepted the decision, stating that he had read it and acknowledged that some people may have been surprised by it. He emphasized that the ruling was powerful in his opinion.
The justices were tasked with interpreting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits workplace discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, and sex. They had to determine if this protection against discrimination based on sex also extended to gay and transgender employees.
Justice Gorsuch stated that it was indeed the case
The author stated that an employer who dismisses someone for being homosexual or transgender is essentially discriminating against them based on traits or actions that would not be questioned if the individual belonged to a different gender.
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. disagreed with the argument, stating that it was incredibly 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 prohibited discrimination in the workplace based on a person’s sex. The case being debated on Wednesday, however, deals with the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause, which is more broadly written and has been understood to create a framework for analysis rather than specific rules. Despite this, Justice Alito stated in 2020 that the court’s ruling could have a significant impact on future constitutional cases.
Adam Liptak is a journalist who writes about the Supreme Court and legal news in his column called Sidebar. He attended 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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