On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in the combined cases of Bostock v. Clayton County (“Bostock”), R. G. & G. R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission et al. (“Stephens”) and Altitude Express, Inc., et al. v. Zarda et al. (“Zarda”), confirming that the prohibition on discrimination on the basis of “sex” contained in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 includes a prohibition against both gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination. The impact of this ruling upon LGBTQ+ people in America cannot be overstated: 16% of LGBT people report having lost a job due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, yet 25 states and three U.S. territories have no explicit state law employment protections for LGBTQ+ people. This win is monumental since now LGBTQ+ individuals across the country have clear workplace federal civil rights protections. Yet this does not bring an end to the work. Our panel will analyze the combined Bostock/Stephens/Zarda opinion, discuss its broad impact on the LGBTQ+ community, and talk about next frontiers in the fight for full equality under our current laws and beyond.
Facilitated by Nan Hunter.