Supreme Court Delivers Landmark Decision for LGBTQ Employees


On June 15, 2020, in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects gay, lesbian, and transgender employees from discrimination based on sex in the workplace.  The historic decision is a blow to the Trump administration, which sided with the employers in the three consolidated cases before the Court. 

The first two of the three consolidated cases involved two employees who sued their former employers after they were fired because they were gay.  Specifically, the employee in the first case – Gerald Bostock – worked as a child welfare coordinator for Clayton County, Georgia and was fired after he joined a gay recreational softball league.  The second case involved Donald Zarda, a now-deceased skydiving instructor who was fired after disclosing to his employer that he was gay.  The third case involved Aimee Stephens, a now-deceased funeral director who identified as transgender.  After disclosing to her former employer that she identified as transgender and would be coming into work as a woman, she was fired. 

President Trump’s first appointee to the Court, Justice Neil Gorsuch, penned the majority opinion, joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Roberts, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elana Kagan.  The majority found that discrimination on the basis of an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity is barred by the language of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which bans discrimination in employment based on race, religion, national origin, or sex. 

“It is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discrimination . . . based on sex,” Justice Gorsuch wrote.  He used an example of two employees – one female, the other male – who are attracted to men to further observe: “If the employer fires the male employee for no reason other than the fact that he is attracted to men,” but chooses not to fire the female employee attracted to men, then that would clearly constitute a firing based on sex.  Despite noting that some employers may still have valid objections to hiring gay or transgender workers based on religion, he further opined that concerns regarding how the Civil Rights Act of 1964 intertwine with “religious liberty are nothing new.”   

Penning the lead dissent, (Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote his own dissent) Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, accused the majority of coming to its decision by falsely utilizing a textualist approach, or by pretending to abide by the words of the statute when in fact he believed the majority chose to update the language of the statute so “to better reflect the current values of society.”

As a rebuke, Justice Gorsuch wrote, “the limits of the drafters’ imagination supply no reason to ignore the law’s demands.”

About Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP focuses on complex civil litigation, including securities, antitrust, wage and hour and consumer class actions as well as shareholder derivative and merger and transactional litigation. The firm is headquartered in New York, and maintains offices in California, Georgia and Pennsylvania.

Since its founding in 1995, Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP has served as lead or co-lead counsel in numerous high-profile cases which ultimately provided significant recoveries to investors, direct purchasers, consumers and employees.

To schedule a free consultation with our attorneys and to learn more about your legal rights, call our offices today at (877) 247-4292 or (212) 983-9330.

About Camilo Burr

Camilo Burr's practice is focused on employment and personal injury litigation. Camilo is an associate in the firm's New York office.

Tags: faruqi & faruqi, investigation, news, litigation, settlement notice, case, faruqi law, faruqi blog, faruqilaw, Camilo M. Burr, employment litigation Camilo Burr Camilo Burr
Associate at Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP

New York office
Tel: (212) 983-9330
Fax: (212) 983-9331
E-mail: cburr@faruqilaw.com
Social: LinkedIn

Finding us

Our Offices


Our offices are nationwide. If you have any questions about a case or our firm, please contact us.

New York

685 Third Avenue 26th Floor
New York, New York 10017
(212) 983-9330
(877) 247-4292
(212) 983-9331

California

1901 Avenue of the Stars Suite 1060
Los Angeles, California 90067
(424) 256-2884
(424) 256-2885

Georgia

3565 Piedmont Road NE Building Four, Suite 380
Atlanta, Georgia 30305
(404) 847-0617
(404) 506-9534

Pennsylvania

1617 JFK Boulevard, Suite 1550
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103
(215) 277-5770
(215) 277-5771

Faruqi & Faruqi office in New York, New York

Faruqi & Faruqi office in Los Angeles, California

Faruqi & Faruqi office in Atlanta, Georgia

Faruqi & Faruqi office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania