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A significant court ruling in 2020 set a precedent for protecting the rights of transgender employees. This decision was seen as an
The highest court in the United States has issued a significant ruling on the rights of transgender individuals in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County.
The 2020 ruling upheld that a significant civil rights law safeguards gay and transgender employees from discrimination in the workplace.
According to Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, an employer cannot legally fire someone simply for being gay or transgender. This ruling was supported by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the four liberal justices on the court at that time. Justice Gorsuch was appointed by President Trump.
The ruling consisted of a majority opinion and two dissents, totaling 168 pages. President Donald J. Trump told reporters that he accepted the decision after reading it. He mentioned that although some people were surprised by the ruling, he respects and abides by the court’s decision. Trump also described it as a strong decision.
The justices had to determine the interpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a law that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, and sex. The question at hand was whether this prohibition against discrimination based on sex also extended to gay and transgender workers, impacting millions of individuals.
Justice Gorsuch stated that it was indeed the case
According to the writer, when an employer terminates an employee because they are homosexual or transgender, they are essentially discriminating against them for qualities or behaviors that they would not have considered an issue if the employee belonged to a different gender.
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. disagreed with the argument, stating that he found it to be extremely arrogant. He also mentioned that there is no proof that any member of Congress understood the statutory text in that way when the law was passed in 1964.
The law that was discussed prohibited discrimination in the workplace based on sex. The case being argued revolves around the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, which is broadly written and is used to create a framework for analysis rather than strict rules. Justice Alito mentioned in 2020 that the court’s decision in this case could influence other constitutional cases.
Adam Liptak is a journalist who focuses on reporting on the Supreme Court and writes a column called Sidebar which discusses legal news. 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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