John Roberts on Jobs Supreme Court Justice (nominated by Pres. George W. Bush 2005)

No job discrimination for transgender status

By a vote of 6-3, the court said Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate because of a person's sex, also covers sexual orientation and transgender status. It said sexual orientation discrimination was a form of sex discrimination.

Across the nation, 21 states have their own laws prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Seven more provide that protection only to public employees. Those laws remain in force, but the ruling means federal law now provides similar protection for LGBTQ employees in the rest of the country.

GORSUCH wrote ruling; ROBERTS, GINSBURG, BREYER, SOTOMAYOR, and KAGAN joined. ALITO, THOMAS, and KAVANAUGH dissented.

Union activists can organize outside of employment place

The court ruled that the National Labor Relations Board erred in denying union activists the right to organize on an employer’s property as long as it was outside and in a non-working area of the property -- in this case, distributing handbills in a parking lot of an ITT facility.