Washington, D.C. — Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a brief in federal court arguing that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars workplace discrimination, does not protect people from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. This filing stands in contrast to rulings from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, and it follows President Donald Trump’s announcement earlier today that the White House intends to bar transgender people from military service.
Laura E. Durso, the vice president of the LGBT Research and Communications Project at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement in response:
Twice yesterday, the Trump administration made clear that it could not care less about LGBT people’s livelihoods, dignity, or civil rights.
LGBT people are not a burden—we are parents, grandparents, veterans, workers, students, and people who deserve to be treated with dignity and fairness. We deserve better than a White House and Justice Department that wants to discharge military service members on account of their gender identity and believes that our employers should be able to fire us because of who we love.
Just six months in, the Trump administration has already put LGBT people at risk of discrimination from the classroom to the conference room. We are confident that the courts and the American people will see this for what it is: a White House on the wrong side of the law and the wrong side of history.
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, please contact Devon Kearns at 202.741.6290 or [email protected].