Section 7

Citation: Section 7
Parent Document: Bostock v. Clayton County, 590 U.S. 644 (2020)
Jurisdiction: United States (federal)
Effective Date: 2020-06-15
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4760997/bostock-v-clayton-county/ ↗

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No. 17–1618. Argued October 8, 2019—Decided June 15, 2020*
In each of these cases, an employer allegedly fired a long-time employee
  simply for being homosexual or transgender. Clayton County, Geor-
  gia, fired Gerald Bostock for conduct “unbecoming” a county employee
  shortly after he began participating in a gay recreational softball
  league. Altitude Express fired Donald Zarda days after he mentioned
  being gay. And R. G. & G. R. Harris Funeral Homes fired Aimee Ste-
  phens, who presented as a male when she was hired, after she in-
  formed her employer that she planned to “live and work full-time as a
  woman.” Each employee sued, alleging sex discrimination under Title
  VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Eleventh Circuit held that
  Title VII does not prohibit employers from firing employees for being
  gay and so Mr. Bostock’s suit could be dismissed as a matter of law.
  The Second and Sixth Circuits, however, allowed the claims of Mr.
  Zarda and Ms. Stephens, respectively, to proceed.
Held: An employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or
   transgender violates Title VII. Pp. 4–33.
      (a) Title VII makes it “unlawful . . . for an employer to fail or refuse
   to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate
   against any individual . . . because of such individual’s race, color, re-
   ligion, sex, or national origin.” 42 U. S. C. §2000e–2(a)(1). The
   straightforward application of Title VII’s terms interpreted in accord
——————
   * Together with No. 17–1623, Altitude Express, Inc., et al. v. Zarda
et al., as Co-Independent Executors of the Estate of Zarda, on certiorari
to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and No. 18–
107, R. G. & G. R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. v. Equal Employment Op-
portunity Commission et al., on certiorari to the United States Court of
Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
2                    BOSTOCK v. CLAYTON COUNTY Syllabus

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