DARK TIMES

DOJ Tells Businesses Discrimination Against Transgender Workers Is Lawful

Solicitor General Noel Francisco sides with a Michigan funeral home sued for firing a transgender employee.

The Justice Department on Wednesday told the U.S. Supreme Court that a civil rights law banning sex discrimination in the workplace doesn’t apply to transgender individuals, effectively giving businesses the green light to discriminate against workers based on their gender identity, according to Bloomberg Law. Solicitor General Noel Francisco announced the decision in connection with a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against a Michigan funeral home. The EEOC, in charge of enforcing Title VII’s prohibition of sex discrimination, had filed and won a lawsuit against the funeral home for firing a transgender worker, but the funeral home challenged that decision. Francisco, in a brief filed Wednesday, sided with the funeral home, saying the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit that ruled against it “misread the statute and this Court’s decisions in concluding that Title VII encompasses discrimination on the basis of gender identity.”

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