Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - Civil Rights Act Of 1964 Covers Sexual Orientation

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued a ruling that acknowledges existing civil rights law -  in the form of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - outlaws discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation.

Chris Geidner at Buzzfeed has the details:

“[A]llegations of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation necessarily state a claim of discrimination on the basis of sex,” the commission concluded in a decision dated July 15.

The independent commission addressed the question of whether the ban on sex discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars anti-LGB discrimination in a complaint brought by a Florida-based air traffic control specialist against Transportation Sec. Anthony Foxx.

The ruling — issued without objection from any members of the five-person commission — applies to federal employees’ claims directly, but it also applies to the entire EEOC, which includes its offices across the nation that take and investigate claims of discrimination in private employment. And, while only the Supreme Court could issue a definitive ruling on the interpretation, EEOC decisions are given significant deference by federal courts.

This isn't the Employment Non-Discrimination Act we all would like to see become law, it is a clear decision in the right direction. This decision could very well lead to nationwide protections for gay, lesbian, and bisexual workers in the U.S.