The Supreme Court will began hearing oral arguments Oct. 7 for the 2019-2020 term, and it will have tackled big employment law issues starting in the first week of oral arguments.

The first of these cases to be heard concerns whether LGBT workers are protected under Federal employment law, i.e., whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) status.

Federal appellate courts have disagreed on the issue.

Two consolidated cases (Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda and Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia) address workplace protections based on sexual orientation, and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. EEOC will consider employment rights based on gender identity.

Notably, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission maintains that LGBT workers are covered under Title VII's protection from sex-based discrimination in the workplace.

The U.S. Department of Justice, however, submitted arguments to the high court that take the opposite position, arguing that Title VII does not protect workers based on gender identity or sexual orientation. Employers should note, however, that despite uncertainty at the federal level, many states already prohibit employment discrimination based on these characteristics.

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