The U.S. Supreme Court on June 15 issued a landmark ruling, saying Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects gay and transgender workers from employment discrimination.
Consolidating multiple cases, the 6-3 ruling affirms that federal employment protections cover LGBT employees.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act already banned employment discrimination based on: National origin, Religion, Race, and Sex.
Now, the Supreme Court ruled that when it comes to “sex,” employment protections apply to LGBT individuals, as well.
“An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids,” conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the majority opinion.