Majority said that the Civil Rights Act protects people from employment discrimination.
In a vote on Monday, in a consolidation of several cases involving gay and transgender people, the Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects them from workplace discrimination.
“In Title VII, Congress adopted broad language making it illegal for an employer to rely on an employee’s sex when deciding to fire that employee. We do not hesitate to recognize today a necessary consequence of that legislative choice: An employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender defies the law,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the court’s majority opinion.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a separate dissent, wrote that he did not believe “the responsibility to amend Title VII” should fall to the court since it was Congress that originally passed the act. Justice Kavanaugh expressed those concerns during the case’s arguments, as did Chief Justice John Roberts.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, along with many other House members, hailed the decisions as “momentous.” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, in whose state one of the plaintiffs lived, also praised the decision.
The ruling will likely have wide-reaching implications for employers, especially those institutions attached to a faith or religious tradition.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- Pray for the Supreme Court Justices as they continue to issue rulings on major cases that have been heard during this concluding session.
- For God to be a work in the hearts and minds of our nation’s leaders as they create legislation and rule on issues regarding gender, identity, and civil rights.
Sources: Washington Examiner, SCOTUS blog
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