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A significant legal ruling in 2020 set a precedent by protecting the rights of transgender employees.
The Supreme Court has only made one significant ruling regarding the rights of transgender individuals, which is the case of Bostock v. Clayton County.
In 2020, a significant decision was made stating that a well-known civil rights law safeguards gay and transgender employees from being discriminated against in the workplace.
According to Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, an employer cannot legally terminate an individual simply for being gay or transgender. This decision was supported by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the court’s four-member liberal wing. Justice Gorsuch was appointed by President Donald J. Trump as his first appointee to the court.
The majority opinion and two dissenting opinions together totaled 168 pages. President Donald J. Trump told reporters that he acknowledged the ruling, stating that he had read the decision and accepted it. Despite some people being surprised by the ruling, Trump emphasized that they had made their decision and it must be respected. He also described the ruling as a "very powerful decision."
The justices were tasked with interpreting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a law that prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, religion, national origin, and sex. They needed to determine if this law also protects gay and transgender workers from discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Justice Gorsuch stated that it was so.
The writer stated that if an employer fires someone for being homosexual or transgender, they are essentially firing them for characteristics or behaviors that they would not have a problem with if the individual was a different gender.
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. disagreed, stating that the argument presented was extremely arrogant. He also mentioned that there is no evidence to support the claim that any member of Congress interpreted the law in that way when it was passed in 1964.
The law in question made it illegal to discriminate in the workplace based on gender. However, the case being discussed focuses on the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause, which is more broadly written and has been used to create guidelines rather than strict rules. Justice Alito noted that decisions made in this case could have a significant impact on future constitutional cases.
Adam Liptak is a journalist who focuses on the Supreme Court and writes a column called Sidebar, which discusses legal news and updates. 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 on The
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