Supreme Court Case to Decide the Right of Employers to Fire Employees Based Solely on their LBGT Status

According to the National Law Review, there are several key employment cases that should be decided in 2020. One of these cases involves LGBT rights.

These cases will have a major impact on civil rights. It is expected to affect about eight million LGBT people in America. Three related cases were argued in the US Supreme Court on October 8, 2019. They involved employees who claimed their employers fired them because of their LGBT status – “in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”); specifically, the statute’s prohibition on discrimination “because of sex.”

Two of the three cases were Altitude Express v. Zarda (2d Circuit) and Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia (11th Circuit). In these two cases, the employees claim their respective employers fired them because they are gay. In the third case, R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC (6th Circuit), the claim is that an employee was fired due to transgender status – in violation of Title VII.

The rights of the LGBT community are a major employment issue in both the public and private sectors.

Examples include:

  • The Business Statement for Transgender Equality. This is a letter by some of the leading employers in the United States censuring “any reduction in LGBT rights.”
  • The Equality Ac. This is a law passed by the US House or Representatives that “seeks to modify civil rights statutes to expressly protect LGBT individuals in the same manner as race, sex, national origin, and religion.” The Senate has not moved on the Equality Act.

The US Supreme Court is expected to decide these cases by June 30, 2020 when its current term ends.

The California Law Offices of Stephen A. Danz and Associates is a leading employee rights law firm. We are dedicated to helping workers assert their rights against employers in a broad range of issues including discrimination, severance agreements, government employment, employment classification, whistleblower rights, wage and hour litigation, and other employee rights. To discuss any wrongful firing or any employment-related claim, call us at 877-789-9707 or fill out our online contact form to schedule an appointment. Se habla espanol.

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