Ruling protects gay and transgender individuals on the job.
SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Ruling protects gay and transgender individuals on the job
Surprising
Supreme Court
Decision
J
une is Pride Month, and a
recent Supreme Court deci-
sion provides a special reason
to celebrate. The American
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Michigan website says it all:
“Landmark victory — SCOTUS
rules it is illegal to fire someone
for being LGBTQ.
”
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme
Court ruled that Title VII of the
1964 Civil Rights Act that pro-
hibits discrimination based on
gender in the workplace applies
to gay and transgender individu-
als as well.
Supreme Court Justice Neil
Gorsuch wrote for the major-
ity: “The answer is clear. An
employer who fires an individ-
ual 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 nec-
essary and undisguisable role in
the decision, exactly what Title
VII forbids.
”
According to Deborah
Gordon, a Bloomfield Hills law-
yer who specializes in employ-
ment and civil rights issues,
“This has been a huge problem
in the employment area. There
was no protec-
tion for firing for
being gay or a
gender change.
This is not, in
fact, a lifestyle
choice but an
inherent part of
who you are. It has nothing to
do with your ability to do your
job. As an American, you should
be protected.
”
Sam Dubin, 28, of Royal
Oak is a founder
of NEXTGen
Pride, a group
of LGBTQ indi-
viduals affiliated
with the Jewish
Federation’
s
NEXTGen
Detroit program for younger
adults. He said this was a “really
momentous decision. Before you
could get married on Sunday,
show up for work on Monday
and then be fired. This has been
a state-by-state issue. You could
be covered in one state but not
another.
”
Ron Elkus, 60, a member of
the local LGBTQ community
and a Huntington Woods res-
ident, said, “This is absolutely
amazing for the LGBT com-
munity. It affects
everyone who is
LGBT. It’
s bigger
than marriage
equality.
”
The ruling
has a strong
Michigan con-
nection because one of the three
plaintiffs was Aimee Stephens,
a funeral director who was fired
by a Garden City funeral home
after announcing that she had
undergone a gender transition
and would begin to dress as a
woman at work. Stephens, who
died last month of kidney dis-
ease, decided to contest her job
termination with help from the
Michigan ACLU in 2013.
Jay Kaplan, 59, an Oak Park
resident and senior lawyer
for the LGBT Project of the
Michigan ACLU, has worked
closely with Stephens since then.
“This is bittersweet since Aimee
passed away on May 12. She
wanted to help other transgen-
der people and was very ded-
icated to the cause despite her
health,
” he said.
Kaplan explained that initially
Stephens filed a civil rights suit
through the Equal Employment
Opportunities Commission.
After a district court ruled in her
employer’
s favor, she appealed
and won in the U.S. Court of
Appeals of the Sixth Circuit.
That decision was challenged
by the funeral home, represent-
ed by the Alliance Defending
Freedom, a conservative non-
profit group. Stephens appealed
to the Supreme Court with the
ACLU arguing her case.
“We were cau-
tiously optimistic
throughout the
process. The
court has become
more conserva-
tive. We had the
right arguments
and a terrific team of lawyers,
”
Kaplan said.
He points out that only 21
states have civil rights laws that
prohibit discrimination against
20 | JUNE 25 • 2020
continued on page 24
Deborah Gordon
Jews in the D
INTERFAITH ALLIANCE TWITTER
Sam Dubin
Ron Elkus
Jay Kaplan
ACLU