https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06...-discrimination-against-lgbt-workers/12358502
The US Supreme Court has delivered a watershed victory for LGBT rights by ruling that a longstanding law barring workplace discrimination also protects gay and transgender employees.
The landmark 6-3 ruling represented the biggest moment for LGBT rights in the United States since the Supreme Court legalised same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015.
Two conservative justices joined the court's four liberals in the decision: Neil Gorsuch, a 2017 appointee who wrote the ruling, and Chief Justice John Roberts.
The justices decided that gay and transgender people are protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex as well as race, colour, national origin and religion.
Workplace bias against gay and transgender employees had remained legal in much of the country, with 28 US states lacking comprehensive measures against employment discrimination.
The ruling, which involved two gay rights cases from Georgia and New York and a transgender rights case from Michigan, recognises new worker protections in federal law.