LGBT RIGHTS TO BE RESOLVED BY SUPREME COURT

The courts have been in conflict in recent years as to whether gay and transgender people are protected from discrimination on the job, an issue the Supreme Court agreed to review on April 22, 2019.  Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits job discrimination because of "sex."  The traditional interpretation of Title VII does not expand the word "sex" to include sexual identity or transgender status.  However, in 1989 the U.S. Supreme Court held that discrimination on the basis of sex encompasses "sex stereotyping," and this interpretation has been utilized in some cases where LGBT have alleged that they were discriminated against because they did not conform to the stereotypes of their gender.  Others are urging the courts to adopt a more modern understanding of "sex" that encompasses job bias against a worker who is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.  A number of states and localities have enacted their own laws that protect LGBT workers from discrimination.  The federal government itself has taken different views on the issue, as the EEOC argues that the federal civil rights law protects workers against sexual orientation discrimination while the Justice Department takes the opposite position.