Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states:

(a) Employer practices

It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer –

(1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or

(2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

 

Listen or read to the oral argument in Bostock v. Clayton County, regarding whether employment discrimination based on “sex” under Title VII includes discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity, available at  https://www.supremecourt.gov Links to an external site. Argued on 10/8/2019

 

Discuss a point made by one of the Justices or attorneys that you found interesting or persuasive. Among other things, you may want to consider arguments or questions regarding the plain language of the statute, the history of the statute and what Congress did or didn’t have in mind when it was written, prior judicial decisions interpreting this language, the relevance of sex or gender-based stereotypes, and the implications of this case.