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In 2020, a significant ruling was made in favor of protecting the rights of transgender employees. This decision sets an important
The highest court in the United States has made a significant ruling on the rights of transgender individuals in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County.
The decision made in 2020 stated that a significant civil rights law safeguards employees who identify as gay or transgender from being discriminated against in the workplace.
Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, appointed to the court by President Donald J. Trump, stated in a 6-3 ruling that it is against the law for an employer to fire someone for being gay or transgender. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and four members of the court’s liberal wing also supported this decision.
The combined majority opinion and two dissenting opinions totaled 168 pages. President Donald J. Trump told reporters that he agreed with the ruling, stating that he had read the decision and that while some people may have been surprised, he accepted and respected the court’s decision. He also described the ruling as a significant and impactful decision.
The justices were tasked with interpreting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, and sex. They needed to determine if this prohibition also extended to gay and transgender employees, specifically regarding discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
According to Justice Gorsuch’s opinion, it was
The author wrote that an employer who terminates an employee for being homosexual or transgender is essentially firing them for characteristics or behaviors that would not have been an issue if they were a different gender.
In his disagreement, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. expressed astonishment at the confidence of the argument presented, stating that there is no proof that any member of Congress understood the statutory text in that manner at the time the law was passed in 1964.
The law that was discussed prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on gender. The case being debated focuses on the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause, which is broad in scope and used to create a framework for analysis rather than strict rules. Justice Alito mentioned in 2020 that the court’s ruling 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 graduated from Yale Law School and worked as a lawyer for 14 years before starting at The Times in 2002. Learn more about Adam Liptak here.
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