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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that allowing employees to express their religious views on
these subjects may give rise to Title VII harassment claims.
   Constitutional claims. Finally, despite the important dif-
ferences between the Fourteenth Amendment and Title
VII, the Court’s decision may exert a gravitational pull in
constitutional cases. Under our precedents, the Equal Pro-
tection Clause prohibits sex-based discrimination unless a
“heightened” standard of review is met. Sessions v. Mo-
rales-Santana, 582 U. S. ___, ___ (2017) (slip op., at 8);
United States v. Virginia, 518 U. S. 515, 532–534 (1996).
By equating discrimination because of sexual orientation or
gender identity with discrimination because of sex, the
Court’s decision will be cited as a ground for subjecting all
three forms of discrimination to the same exacting standard
of review.
   Under this logic, today’s decision may have effects that
extend well beyond the domain of federal anti-
discrimination statutes. This potential is illustrated by
pending and recent lower court cases in which transgender
individuals have challenged a variety of federal, state, and
local laws and policies on constitutional grounds. See, e.g.,
Complaint in Hecox, No. 1: 20–CV–00184 (state law prohib-
iting transgender students from competing in school sports
in accordance with their gender identity); Second Amended
Complaint in Karnoski v. Trump, No. 2:17–cv–01297 (WD
Wash., July 31, 2019) (military’s ban on transgender mem-
bers); Kadel v. Folwell, ___ F. Supp. 3d ___, ___–___, 2020
WL 1169271, *10–*11 (MDNC, Mar. 11, 2020) (state health
plan’s exclusion of coverage for sex reassignment proce-
dures); Complaint in Gore v. Lee, No. 3:19–cv–00328 (MD
Tenn., Mar. 3, 2020) (change of gender on birth certificates);
Brief for Appellee in Grimm v. Gloucester Cty. School Bd.,
No. 19–1952 (CA4, Nov. 18, 2019) (transgender student
forced to use gender neutral bathrooms at school); Com-
plaint in Corbitt v. Taylor, No. 2:18–cv–00091 (MD Ala.,
54              BOSTOCK v. CLAYTON COUNTY ALITO, J., dissenting

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