LGBT Employment Rights in an Evolving Legal Landscape: the Impact of the Supreme Court’s Decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia

The Supreme Court heard arguments during its 2019–2020 term in three cases concerning the employment rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees: Zarda v. Altitude Express (2018), Bostock v. Clayton County (2018b), and EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. (2018). In these cases the lower courts considered whether or not Title VII includes protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The cases reached the Supreme Court after a split in the circuit court decisions and under a backdrop of differing, and at times conflicting, state and local laws as well as divergent positions taken by federal agencies. In a 6–3 decision, the Court ultimately held that Title VII covers both sexual orientation and gender identity. This paper submits that the legal questions before the Court rested upon the evolution in the legal interpretation of Title VII as well as the changing social standards as applied to LGBT employees in large part due to the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015). While the current environment of LGBT rights represents a time of great transition, the Supreme Court’s decision provides clarity to legal and human resource professionals regarding how they should treat LGBT employees and applicants.

本研究关注的是美国《民权法案》第七条（Title VII）对性别、性取向和性别认同歧视的适用性，特别是在同性恋、双性恋、跨性别（LGBT）员工的就业权益方面。研究探讨了由于各地联邦上诉法院的判决差异以及不同州和联邦法律之间的冲突，导致对“因性别”条款的解释发生变化。该条款最初旨在保护女性免受男性主导的工作场所中的性别歧视，但后来被扩展到包括性骚扰、性别刻板印象、同性骚扰等问题。随着2015年最高法院判决同性婚姻合法化，LGBT群体的权利发生了重大变化。本研究还探讨了最高法院在2019-2020年会期就此问题的裁决，解决了联邦上诉法院之间的分歧，明确了《民权法案》第七条是否适用于性取向和性别认同的歧视问题，并评估了这一判决对未来非歧视诉讼、各州和地方LGBT保护法以及特朗普政府对同性恋权益的立场的影响。

本研究分析了2019-2020年最高法院审理的三起案件，涉及同性恋、双性恋、跨性别（LGBT）员工的就业权益：Zarda诉Altitude Express案（2018年）、Bostock诉Clayton County案（2018年）和EEOC诉R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc.案（2018年）。这些案件讨论了《民权法案》第七条是否包括性取向或性别认同的保护。案件在联邦上诉法院的判决分歧和各州、地方法律的不同立场以及联邦机构的立场不一致的背景下提交到最高法院。

美国最高法院明确指出，《民权法案》第七条的性别歧视保护适用于LGBT员工。正如阿利托法官在其异议中所预测的那样，未来可能会出现哪些进一步的发展，尚待观察。人力资源专业人士无疑会密切关注法律的后续变化，以及司法判决和行政法规的变化。与此同时，人力资源专业人士必须努力创造一个对所有员工都欢迎和包容的工作环境。接受对LGBT美国人态度的变化使得人力资源专业人士能够为组织带来最佳的商业优势。