Idaho AG, congressman join federal legal fight against LGBT worker protection

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Idaho’s attorney general and its newest member of Congress have joined a case before the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that federal civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination based on gender do not apply to those who are gay, bisexual, or transgender.

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and U.S. Representative Russ Fulcher, both Republicans, have signed on to friend-of-the-court briefs filed in three pending Supreme Court cases regarding protections for LGBT employees.

The High Court in April said it would take the cases, which involve people who claim they were fired because of their sexual or gender orientation, to decide whether federal law prohibiting employment discrimination based on sex applies to gay and transgender employees.  The court is expected to take up the cases later this year.

The briefs filed by 15 states argue that Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin, does not specifically identify “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as protected classes. Other states joining the filing are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia.

The amicus briefs also argue that any modifications to Title 7 to include sexual orientation and gender identity must be done by Congress, not the courts.

In July, 21 states and 153 members of Congress filed friend-of-the-court briefs urging the U.S. Supreme Court to extend civil rights protections to gay and transgender employees. (Idaho Statesman)

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