Title VII protects LGBTQ workers, Supreme Court rules

In an unexpected move, the U.S. Supreme Court recently decided gay and transgender individuals enjoy the full protections of Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964.

No more hodgepodge of state statutes

In the 6-3 ruling issued on June 15, 2020, the high court swept aside all objections raised by the lengthy and passionate dissents, one by one, declaring Title VII’s language made the outcome “clear.” In what may well become the most oft-quoted passage from this Court, Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the majority, stated:

Because discrimination on the basis of homosexuality or transgender status requires an employer to intentionally treat individual employees differently because of their sex, an employer who intentionally penalizes an employee for being homosexual or transgender also violates Title VII.

The landmark ruling will require more than 20 states that haven’t prohibited discrimination against gay or transgender employees to bring their laws into compliance with the federal standard. Multijurisdictional employers will be especially pleased because the ruling not only comports with their employment practices but also permits them to have a single employment standard throughout the United States.

Change in national legal landscape