Trump Administration Position Is the Civil Rights Act Does Not Protect ‘Homosexuals’ From Discrimination
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday delivered a big win to lesbian, gay, and bisexual employees, ruling that anti-gay discrimination is sex discrimination. It is the second federal court to do so, as Reuters reports.
The 10-3 ruling applies to discrimination in the workplace, finding that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, bans discrimination based on sexual orientation.
“In the context of Title VII,” the ruling finds, “the statutory prohibition extends to all discrimination ‘because of . . . sex’ and sexual orientation discrimination is an actionable subset of sex discrimination.”
The case, Zarda v. Altitude Express, involves a skydiving instructor who claimed he was fired for being gay. His estate is suing his former employer.
The Trump administration last year filed an amicus brief arguing that it is acceptable to discriminate against LGBT people in the workplace, stating that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not protect “homosexuals” from discrimination. The administration literally claimed that as long as gay people are being discriminated against equally, it is not discrimination:
TITLE VII’S BAR AGAINST DISCRIMINATION BECAUSE OF SEX IS NOT VIOLATED UNLESS MEN AND WOMEN ARE TREATED UNEQUALLY
This is the second court ruling going against the administration today. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier Monday refused to expedite a hearing on the president’s attempt to kill the DACA program, effectively leaving it in place for now.
Image by Ted Eytan via Flickr and a CC license