US Supreme Court extends workplace protection to LGBTQ community

The US Supreme Court on Monday extended workplace protection against discrimination to the LGBTQ community in a widely welcomed landmark judgment that was also a defeat for the Trump administration that had argued against providing these same rights on the question of social orientation.

It was a 6-3 decision with Trump appointee Justice Neil Gorsuch writing the majority opinion. He was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the four liberal justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Brett Kavanaugh, the other Trump nominee, dissented along with Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.

Gorsuch wrote in the majority opinion that, “For an employer to discriminate against employees for being homosexual or transgender, the employer must intentionally discriminate against individual men and women in part because of sex."

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees from discrimination based on race, colour, sex, religion or national origin.

The Trump administration and lawyers for employers had Title VII protections applied only to ensure there was no discrimination on gender or race, not on sexual orientation.

“Fantastic news. No one in America should face discrimination for being who they are or for who they love,” said Bernie Sanders, Senator and former candidate for the White House, in a tweet. “Together, we are going to defeat the hate and bigotry of this administration and stand with our LGBTQ+ family. Congratulations to everyone who fought to make this happen.”

Experts have said this ruling has far more significant implications for the LGBTQ community and being allowed to marry. Not all gay and lesbian people marry, but they all work and need the workplace protections available to others.