LGBTQ Employment Rights Going To Court This Summer

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The Supreme Court will soon hand down its ruling on a trio of cases that will determine whether LGBTQ employees are protected from discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

This Summer, Out & Equal worked in coalition to bring together 206 major businesses on an amicus brief to the Supreme Court. The companies that signed on collectively represent more than 7 million employees and more than $5 trillion in revenue. Together, we sent the message that discrimination is not just wrong, it is also bad for businesses.

When the court delivers its ruling, it will decide:

• Whether Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (SO); and,
• Whether Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity (GI).

The decision could fall generally into 4 scenarios, each with unique implications for our collective work:

  1. Win SO & Win GI
  2. Win SO & Lose GI
  3. Lose SO & Win GI
  4. Lose SO & Lose GI

I invite you to a briefing call this coming Thursday to learn more about these scenarios before the Supreme Court decision is released. This is a great opportunity for you to get ahead of the curve and start figuring out what actions you will want to take after a decision comes down.

Thursday, March 19th 4:00pm-5:00pm Eastern Daylight Time

RSVP for the Briefing Call

No matter what the court rules, we know that the business community will have an essential role to play going forward. There are critical gaps in civil rights protections for LGBTQ Americans that will remain even if the Supreme Court accepts our position. The Equality Act – the omnibus federal civil rights bill passed by the House of Representatives last spring – remains the best vehicle to close these gaps.

Out & Equal has remained in close touch with our coalition partners at the Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, Freedom for All Americans, and Out Leadership. We have been thinking together about the different possible decisions by the Supreme Court and what the role of the business community would be in each instance. With you, our partners, we are strategizing for a more inclusive future.