• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home National

US Supreme Court to Take on LBGTQ Rights in the Workplace

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
10/08/19
in National
The Supreme Court of the United States.

The Supreme Court of the United States.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Does a U.S. employer have the right to fire a worker because they are gay or transgender?

That question, which has caused deep divisions within U.S. society, will go before the Supreme Court on Tuesday at a time when the political scene has already reached fever pitch over efforts to impeach President Donald Trump.

The Trump administration has effectively thrown in its lot with the employers, backing a narrow interpretation of a 1964 civil rights law banning discrimination “on the basis of sex.”

“Sex refers to whether you were born woman or man, not your sexual orientation or gender identity,” argued Solicitor General Noel Francisco, representing the government’s position before the court. He said it is the job of Congress to update the law, not the justice system.

But advocates for sexual minority groups argue that the rights of the LGBTQ community have advanced first and foremost through the court system in recent years, most notably with the Supreme Court’s landmark 2015  that found bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional.

“In many ways, this is more fundamental than what was at stake” in the same-sex marriage case, said Ria Tabacco Mar of the powerful American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

“We’re talking about the ability to earn a living, the ability to support our families, the ability to secure a safe place to live. I mean, this goes to the very heart of what it is to live and work in this country.”

Only 22 states forbid discrimination against sexual minorities in the workplace. Tabacco Mar said it was up to the Supreme Court to stop the LGBTQ community from being “relegated to second class status.”

‘Enough is Enough’ 

The Supreme Court will start by hearing the cases of Donald Zarda and Gerald Lynn Bostock.

The former, a skydiving instructor from New York, was sacked after jokingly reassuring a female client whom he was strapping to himself for a jump that he was gay. He died in a base-jumping accident in 2014, but his family have pursued the case.

The second case is of a social worker from Georgia who was sacked shortly after joining a gay sports team.

Zarda’s dismissal was overturned by a court while Bostock’s was upheld, and the difference in interpretation of the law prompted the intervention by the Supreme Court.

The court’s nine justices will then examine the case, for the first time in public, of a transgender person.

Born a male 58 years ago, Aimee Stephens worked for a Detroit funeral home for six years before telling her employer she wanted to be issued a female uniform. Two weeks later, she was fired, with the boss saying: “This is not going to work.”

The boss, Thomas Rost, cited his Christian values in defending his decision and the need to avoid upsetting customers in mourning.

Distraught, Stephens decided to fight. “It was time that somebody stood up and said enough is enough,” she said. “Every human being deserves the same rights. That’s all we are asking for.”

‘Too Early?’ 

Since its landmark decision on gay marriage, the court has swung to the right with Trump’s appointment of two conservative judges, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

For lawyer Tom Goldstein, who has often argued cases at the Supreme Court, Stephens’ case has probably come “too early” before the body, which is unlikely to accept a broader reading of the 1964 law.

“In 20 years, I think it’s going to be pretty inconceivable socially, that we will think that the discrimination against gays and lesbians and transgender individuals is legal,” he said.

“But we are in a kind of transitional period. And I think that the conservatives, as a result, are more likely to take a more traditional view of the statute,” he said.

Aimee Stephens will be at the Supreme Court tomorrow morning, fighting for the rights of LGBTQ workers throughout the country. 💪🏳️‍🌈 pic.twitter.com/BvJtbXH02V

— ACLU (@ACLU) October 8, 2019

Employers have also received support from conservatives and religious groups.

Catholic bishops wrote an amicus brief to the court warning that “ordinary religious believers, whose views about marriage and human sexuality do not conform to those of the present culture, will be silenced or punished for ‘unwelcome’ speech on these subjects, which now will be regarded as a form of harassment.”

The conservative group “Alliance Defending Freedom,” which successfully backed a baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple and whose case ended up before the Supreme Court, has also weighed in on the side of employers.

Workers who feel their rights have been infringed upon can count on the support of many advocacy groups, including the ACLU, and the backing of Democratic politicians.

The two sides will find themselves face to face Tuesday when rival demonstrations are set to be held outside the court as the hearings get under way.


More on the Subject 

Capital Pride 2019: Solidarity and Celebration

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

US Supreme Court abortion
National

US Supreme Court Allows Abortion Providers to Challenge Texas Law

by Staff Writer
December 10, 2021
Nestle is asking the court to block the suit against them from going forward
National

US Supreme Court Considers Firms’ Liability for Africa Child Slavery

by Staff Writer
December 1, 2020
People wave flags during a vigil in reaction to the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida on June 12, 2016. Photo: Bryan R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images
Featured

LGBTQ Community Worried as Florida Rolls Back Local Conversion Therapy Bans

by Deon Feng
November 25, 2020
LGBTQ flag
National

Nevada First US State to Recognize Gay Marriage in Its Constitution

by Staff Writer
November 16, 2020
A man waves a rainbow flag as he rides by the US Supreme Court that released a decision that says federal law protects LGBTQ workers from discrimination on June 15, 2020 in Washington,DC.
Featured

Unmasking the ‘Right to Harm:’ the US Supreme Court and the Attack on LGBTQ Lives

by Jonathan Branfman
October 26, 2021
Students march during a demonstration marking International Women's Day in Barcelona.
Opinion

Why Today’s Feminists Must Build Bridges With Other Social Movements

by Lilia Giugni
August 5, 2020
Next Post
01 October 2019, Iraq, Baghdad: Protesters hold pictures of Lieutenant General Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, second-in-command of Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Servic, during an anti-government demonstration against the provision of jobs and the alleged government corruption, in Tahrir Square in central Baghdad. Photo: Ameer Al Mohammedaw, dpa

Tentative Calm Returns to Iraq After Protests, But Political Crisis Persists

Minors detained in US custody after being apprehended by immigration officials.

1.5 Million Children Deprived of Liberty Worldwide [UN Study]

Recommended

An Iranian protester

Iran’s Nuclear Program: From Its Origins to Today’s Dispute

June 23, 2025
Protesters and police clash during the “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California on June 14, 2025.

US Appeals Court Allows Trump Control of National Guard in LA

June 20, 2025
Donald Trump

Fact vs. Fiction: The Trump Administration’s Dubious War on Reverse Discrimination

June 18, 2025
Iranian missiles and Israeli interceptors light up the sky over Beirut, Lebanon, on June 14, 2025. Iran launched multiple missiles toward Israeli targets, triggering interception attempts above several regional capitals, including Beirut.

Israel-Iran Conflict: Latest Developments

June 18, 2025
Tens of thousands of protestors shut down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday, April 5, 2025, protesting the Trump administration's abuse of the separation of federal powers as well as the deep cuts to governmental services overseen by presidential advisor Elon Musk.

Civil Society Is Holding the Line. Will Washington Notice?

June 17, 2025
An Iranian walking in front of a wall painting of the Iranian flag in Tehran

How Much Damage Has Israel Inflicted on Iran’s Nuclear Program?

June 16, 2025

Opinion

Donald Trump

Fact vs. Fiction: The Trump Administration’s Dubious War on Reverse Discrimination

June 18, 2025
Tens of thousands of protestors shut down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday, April 5, 2025, protesting the Trump administration's abuse of the separation of federal powers as well as the deep cuts to governmental services overseen by presidential advisor Elon Musk.

Civil Society Is Holding the Line. Will Washington Notice?

June 17, 2025
A Black Lives Matter mural in New York City.

Fuhgeddaboudit! America’s Erasure of History

April 2, 2025
Bust of Deputy Rubens Paiva in the Chamber of Deputies

Democratic Brazilians Are Still Here

March 18, 2025
A woman from Guatemala

Dispatch From Central America

January 28, 2025
US President Donald Trump

Dear Trump Supporters: Is This the America You Wanted?

January 28, 2025
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post