In a 3-2 decision, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — which oversees federal discrimination actions — says that workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is covered by the Civil Rights Act of 1964's Title VII, barring discrimination based on sex.
Which, after a moment of thinking, makes sense. If you decide to fire a John because he's dating Bob, but wouldn't fire Susan if she were dating Bob, then you're treating John differently from Susan _based on John's sex._
Now, that said, this merely means that the EEOC will now bring discrimination suits in court based on this decision. It will remain for the federal courts to agree.
One interesting note is the reference in the decision to the 1998 SCOTUS ruling in Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., which extended Title VII protection even against harassment by the same sex. (It was a unanimous decision, with the opinion written by Scalia of all people.):
'We see no justification in the statutory language or our precedents for a categorical rule excluding same-sex harassment claims from the coverage of Title VII. As some courts have observed, male-on-male sexual harassment in the workplace was assuredly not the principal evil Congress was concerned with when it enacted Title VII. But statutory prohibitions often go beyond the principal evil to cover reasonably comparable evils, and it is ultimately the provisions of our laws rather than the principal concerns of our legislators by which we are governed. Title VII prohibits "discriminat[ion] … because of … sex" in the "terms" or "conditions" of employment. Our holding that this includes sexual harassment must extend to sexual harassment of any kind that meets the statutory requirements.'
It's an odd thing for a so-called originalist like Scalia to write, but there it is, and it seems to provide a clear justification for this EEOC ruling.
Sexual Orientation Discrimination Is Barred By Existing Law, Federal Commission Rules
“[A]llegations of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation necessarily state a claim of discrimination on the basis of sex” barred by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Empl…
