Can Employees Be Fired for Being LGTBQ?

We the People

National Constitution Center

News, News Commentary, History

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 October 2019

⏱️ 55 minutes

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Summary

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination “because of… sex.” Last week, a trio of cases that raise the question of whether Title VII also prohibits discrimination because of sexual orientation and/or gender identity were argued before the Supreme Court. Two of these cases – Bostock v. Clayton County Georgia and Zarda v. Altitude Express, Inc. – are lawsuits brought by employees who claim they were fired for being gay, and are suing their employers. The third case – R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. EEOC – centers around Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman who says she was fired from her job at a funeral home because of her gender identity. On this episode, Karen Loewy, Senior Counsel for LGBTQ legal advocacy organization Lambda Legal, and Professor David Upham of the University of Dallas – who both wrote briefs in these cases – explain the arguments on both sides, analyze the Justices’ reactions at oral argument, and predict the potential social and legal consequences of these cases. Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, and welcome
0:07.8	to We The People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.
0:11.7	The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit chartered
0:15.9	by Congress to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American
0:21.3	people.
0:22.6	On today's episode, we will focus on a trio of Title VII cases argued before the Supreme
0:29.6	Court during its first week. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment
0:36.2	discrimination because of sex.
0:38.8	And these three cases ask whether discrimination because of sexual orientation or because of gender identity is also
0:46.1	prohibited under Title VII. Two of the cases Bostick against Clayton County and Zarda against Altitude Express are brought by employees who say they were fired for being gay and are suing their employers.
1:00.0	The third case, R.G. and G.R. Harris, funeral homes versus EOC, centers around Amy Stevens, a
1:05.8	transgender woman who says she was fired from her job at the funeral home because of her gender
1:10.4	identity. Joining us to discuss these fascinating and important cases are
1:15.8	Karen L. L. L. L. L. L. L. L. L. L. L. L. L. L.
1:21.3	The oldest and largest national organization committed to the civil rights of gay and transgender people and those with H-I-V.
1:28.0	She leads Lambda Legal's impact litigation and his counsel of record for Lambda's Amicus Brief in the Harris Funeral Homes case in support of Amy Stevens.
1:37.0	She was also involved with Lambda submission of a cert petition in evidence against Georgia Regional Hospital, the 11th Circuit precedent that was the basis for the circuit court decision in Bostick.
1:47.0	Karen, thank you so much for joining.
1:49.0	My pleasure, thanks so much for having me.
1:51.0	And David Oppam is Politics Department Chair,
1:54.4	Director of Legal Studies, and Associate Professor
1:56.7	at the University of Dallas.
	...

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