LOS ANGELES - Oct. 1, 2019 - On July 3, 2019, Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV), along with 11 other American Muslim organizations, filed an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court in Bostock v. Clayton County and related cases. At issue in the cases is whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination "because of … sex," encompasses discrimination based on an individual's sexual orientation.
Gerald Bostock, a gay man, sued his employer, Clayton County, Georgia, for discrimination on the basis of his sexual orientation. The employer sought to exclude discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees from the ambit of Title VII's protections against discrimination in the workplace. The related cases involve a gay and a transgender individual. In this brief, the amici curiae argued that discrimination against an employee because of their sexual orientation or transgender status is discrimination "because of … sex." As stated in the brief, it "is settled law that Title VII prohibits discrimination against an employee because of their interracial marriage or religious conversion – since such discrimination necessarily involves consideration of the employee's race or religion. Similarly, Title VII prohibits discrimination against an employee because of their sexual orientation or transgender status – since such discrimination necessarily involves consideration of the employee's sex. Because Title VII treats sex the same as it treats race, religion, and other protected classifications, those precedents apply equally here."
Adeel Mangi at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, counsel for the Muslim Groups and a member of MPV's board stated: "This is an unprecedented coalition of Muslim groups from around the country--a community that knows only too well the realities of workplace discrimination---urging the Supreme Court to construe the protections of Title VII to encompass the LGBTQ+ community. Amici view is a fundamental civil rights issue."
On October 8th, 2019 we will hear the decision of the Supreme Court and it is vital that the Court interpret Title VII's protections against discrimination on the basis of sex to encompass sexual orientation and identity.
LGBT individuals deserve the same rights and protections under the law as everyone else in this country. Allowing employers to discriminate on the basis of an individual's sexual orientation or sexual identity is antithetical to the spirit of the Constitution.
MPV has been a firm supporter of LGBTQI+ rights within the context of Islam and is committed to continuing the fight for equality for all. For our position statement on LGBQI+ rights please visit http://www.mpvusa.org/mpv-position-statements.
