Bostock v. Clayton County, which affirmed the EEOC’s longstanding position that employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity violates federal civil rights law.
The Bostock decision was a resounding victory in the fight for LGBTQI+ rights, an area where the Commission has played a leadership role for more than a decade, across administrations.Despite decades of advocacy and struggle, LGBTQI+ individuals continue to face persistent discrimination and acts of violence in America.
In many instances, these attempts to undermine legal rights and protections and to inflict physical and emotional suffering are directed towards some of the most vulnerable people in the LGBTQI+ community, including persons of color, transgender persons, and LGBTQI+ youth and their families.
Despite this intolerance, many courageous LGBTQI+ individuals and allies continue to live by the immortal words of Bayard Rustin, a leading strategist in the civil rights movement and an advocate for the rights of Blacks and LGBTQI+ persons: “Let us be enraged by injustice, but let us not be destroyed by it.” For generations, members of the LGBTQI+ community and their allies have maintained their passion and commitment while continuing to combat injustice.The courage of members of the LGBTQI+ community who opposed unequal treatment paved the way for EEOC’s work to establish legal protections for LGBTQI+ workers.