When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the June landmark 6-3 decision that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees from discrimination based on sex, it clarified the definition of sex and settled what has been a murky area for employers, employees and even the courts in discrimination lawsuits. Discrimination based on sex, including sexual orientation and gender identity, is illegal, and employers must abide by this rule.

Delivering the majority opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote, “An employer who fires an individual for being [lesbian, gay, bisexual,] 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.” An employee’s attraction to, or identity with, one gender or another can no longer be a part of an employment decision.

Follows Hopkins and Oncale Rulings

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