Washington, DC—Today, the U.S. Department of Justice, under the leadership of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, will reportedly file a brief in Zarda v. Altitude Express, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, arguing that federal law permits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. This new stance is an about-face from the Department’s past legal position.
NCTE Director of Policy Harper Jean Tobin issued the following statement:
“The Trump Administration has launched an all-out attack on more than 1.5 million transgender Americans and on their families. Not only did President Trump promise today to kick out 15,000 transgender military service members who are honorably serving their country, but the Department of Justice is now also about to go into federal court saying transgender people across the country can be fired, evicted, and denied health care because of who they are. This is not only gratuitous and cruel, but it is also contrary to two decades of case law.”
