The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision Monday which finds that discrimination against gay and transgender people in employment violates federal law. The case is known as Bostock v. Clayton County. The court held that an employer that fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination against employees based upon race, religion, national origin and sex, but the term “sex” as written in the statute was not defined.  The Supreme Court stated in its decision Monday that because it is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex, homosexuals and transgender people are covered by that anti-discrimination statute.  Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote:

Discrimination based on homosexuality or transgender status necessarily entails discrimination based on sex; the first cannot happen without the second. 

Some 27 states, including Ohio, have no explicit statewide law protecting individuals from discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.  With Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision, discrimination in employment on the basis of homosexuality or transgender status violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in all states. 

Employers should review their company policies and employee handbooks to make sure that they are in compliance with the decision.  

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Martin J. Boetcher is a lawyer with Harrington, Hoppe & Mitchell, and practices in employment law. He can be reached at mboetcher@hhmlaw.com or at (330) 744-1111.