What The Impact Of The LGBT+ Supreme Court Case On Work Discrimination Could Mean?

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On October 8th, the Supreme Court of the United States began to hear three crucial cases; Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda, Bostock v. Clayton County, and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC. All three people in these cases identify as LGBT+, and were fired due to that identity (Zarada & Bostock are gay, while Stephens is a trans woman). If the Supreme Court justices decide that discrimination on the basis of a person’s gender identity is wrong under the 1964 Civil Rights Act then LGBT+ discrimination will become illegal. But, if they decide that it is not wrong, then there are a couple of immediate impacts that we can expect.

First that will put the jobs and livelihood of about 11.3 million LGBT+ people at risk. Now perhaps if you live in a state such as New York, which has laws such as SONDA, you are and will be protected by state laws. Yet if your state doesn’t have laws similar to this one than you are at a higher risk for trouble. The second thing we can expect is a policing of identity not only with transgender people but with cisgender people. If the court believes that Aimee Stephens's former boss was right in firing her because she wasn’t dressing “feminine” enough then imagine the implications beyond the LGBT+ community. Policing gender, in the past has had negative effects, such as when a male widower in the 1970s was denied survivor benefits by social security because he was not a woman.

The rulings of these three cases are not expected to come until the summer of 2020, and all we can really do is wait. Yet in the meantime, it is crucial we spread information about each of these cases. It is important that we remain hopeful, and it is also important that in case the Supreme Court does not rule in favor of LGBT+ people that we are ready to fight.