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A significant ruling in 2020 set a precedent in favor of protecting the rights of transgender workers.
The Supreme Court has only made one significant ruling regarding transgender rights, which was in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County.
The decision made in 2020 stated that a significant civil rights law safeguards gay and transgender employees from discrimination in the workplace.
According to Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, who was appointed by President Donald J. Trump, it is against the law for an employer to terminate someone for being gay or transgender. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and four liberal justices also agreed with this ruling.
The ruling consisted of a majority opinion and two dissents, totaling 168 pages. President Donald J. Trump stated to reporters that he accepted the ruling after reading it. He acknowledged that some people were surprised by the decision but emphasized that it must be respected. Trump described the ruling as a strong and impactful one.
The judges had to determine the interpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a law that prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, religion, national origin, and sex. The question at hand was whether this prohibition on discrimination based on sex also extended to gay and transgender employees, impacting millions of workers.
Justice Gorsuch stated that it was true.
The author stated that when an employer terminates an employee for being homosexual or transgender, they are essentially firing them for characteristics or behaviors that they would not have had an issue with if the individual was a different gender.
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. expressed disagreement by stating that the argument was extremely arrogant, and that there was no evidence to suggest that any member of Congress had interpreted the statutory text in that manner when the law was passed in 1964.
The law that was discussed prohibited discrimination in the workplace based on gender. The case being argued on Wednesday, however, focuses on the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, which is written broadly and has been understood to provide a framework for analysis rather than strict rules. Justice Alito mentioned in 2020 that the court’s ruling in this case could have an influence on other constitutional cases.
Adam Liptak is a journalist who focuses on reporting 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 his career at The Times in 2002. Learn more about Adam Liptak.
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