A trio of solidly Blue States urged a federal appeals court to extend a federal anti-discrimination law to protect workers from being fired for being gay, raising the profile of a divisive social issue that’s likely to be decided by the Supreme Court.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin and religion. The attorneys general of New York, Vermont and Connecticut say the Title VII protection also encompasses sexual orientation. A finding in their favor would remove the need for a nationwide legislation protecting LGBT workers from being fired, which some Democrats in Congress and civil rights activists have sought for decades.
