"US supreme court rules employers cannot discriminate against LGBTQ+ workers," 15 June 2020

The Supreme Court has ruled that a landmark 1964 civil rights law protects gay and transgender workers from discrimination in a historic victory for the LGBTQ+ community. The six to three verdict is the biggest victory for LGBTQ+ rights since the court upheld marriage equality in 2015. The case concerned whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars employment discrimination based on race, religion, national origin and sex, also covered LGBTQ+ workers.

“Today, we must decide whether an employer can fire someone simply for being homosexual or transgender. The answer is clear. 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,” [Associate Justice of the Supreme Court], Neil Gorsuch wrote...

The Harris Funeral Homes case centered on Aimee Stephens, a trans woman fired after her boss claimed it would violate “God’s commands” if he allowed her “to deny [her] sex while acting as a representative of [the] organization".  Stephens’ case was the first trans rights case to come before the Supreme Court and came at a time when attacks on trans people have spiked and the federal government and conservative states have moved to erode the rights of trans people.  Some 29 states currently allow some form of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodation...