Federal Court LGBT Workers Win

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Title VII which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, includes protections on the basis of sexual orientation in the case Zarda v. Altitude Express, Inc. This is a major victory against Jeff Sessions’ homophobic Department of Justice who filed an amicus brief to the court arguing that sexual orientation should not be protected under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Vanita Gupta, President & CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights stated, “We applaud this ruling by the Second Circuit, which follows a similar decision by the Seventh Circuit. These federal judges have rightly recognized that discrimination against workers on the basis of their sexual orientation violates a key civil rights law of this country. It is also a welcome rebuke of the Trump administration’s view that it’s somehow legal to discriminate against LGBT workers. All workers, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, should be protected from discrimination.” Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD concluded, "Today's court ruling is a decisive victory & a significant rejection of the Trump Administration's ongoing campaign to strip rights & protections away from LGBTQ people in the workplace. This strong affirmation that sexual orientation is protected under Title VII is a vital step forward, but it is imperative to continue to fight for the courts to affirm gender identity is also protected by denying the Trump Administration attempts to block the transgender community from having standing under the language of sex discrimination.”
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