The United States Supreme Court ruled on June 15, in a 6-3 decision, Bostock v. Clayton County, that Title VII’s prohibitions against sex discrimination in the workplace protects gay, lesbian and transgender employees.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, who wrote the majority opinion, concluded that the term “sex” in Title VII applies to one’s identification as LGBTQQIA, writing, “An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.”

Now that there is clarity on this issue, employers must make sure their policies, practices and training includes awareness of LGBTQQIA legal obligations and protections. While there will most likely be future cases regarding ancillary issues, such as bathroom/shower privacy and religious beliefs, there can be no question that those in the LGBTQQIA community are protected by federal law and cannot be discriminated against.

Even without this decision, most in the field of HR Management have long practiced and pushed their organizations to treat everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, with the same respect, fairness and equality, as anyone else in the workplace. This is one of the reasons Kelly and I are proud to be HR professionals, HR is generally on the cutting edge of positive social change and inclusiveness. Thanks for listening to Survive HR and please let us know if we can be of service to you in any way.