WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) led a bicameral letter signed by more than 60 lawmakers to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, challenging a Department of Justice (DOJ) brief arguing that the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not protect LGBT Americans from discrimination in the workplace.

The brief was filed last month in the case of Zarda v. Altitude Express and directly contradicts the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, several federal district courts, and most recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which have all concluded that the Civil Rights Act does indeed extend to discrimination against LGBT Americans in the workplace.

“The Department of Justice’s decision to weigh in on the Zarda case is not only incredibly disappointing, but contrary to existing law,” the Senators wrote. “We urge the Department of Justice to reverse its position and to refrain from arguing against protections for LGBT people in any future Title VII cases dealing with the issue of whether sex discrimination includes discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.” 

Senators Booker, Merkley, and Baldwin and Representative Cicilline authored the Equality Act, reintroduced earlier this year, which clarifies that federal law bans discrimination against LGBT Americans in a host of areas, including employment, housing, public accommodations, jury service, access to credit, and federal funding.

Today’s letter was also signed by the following members of Congress:

Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA)

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI)

Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA)

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ)

Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI).

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton

Rep. Alan Lowenthal

Rep. Donald Norcross

Rep. William R. Keating

Reo. Diana DeGette

Rep. Derek Kilmer

Rep. Barbara Lee

Rep. Peter Welch

Rep. Sandy Levin

Rep. Ro Khanna

Rep. Scott Peters

Rep. Josh Gottheimer

Rep. Kathleen Rice

Rep. Linda T. Sanchez

Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez

Rep. Pete Aguilar

Rep. Bill Foster

Rep. Daniel T. Kildee

Rep. Juan Vargas

Rep. Joe Crowley

Rep. Yvette D. Clarke

Rep. Hank Johnson

Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr.

Rep. Jacky Rosen

Rep. Earl Blumenauer

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman

Rep. Steve Cohen

Rep. Betty McCollum

Rep. Alcee L. Hastings

Rep. Jan Schakowsky

Rep. John Lewis

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee

Rep. Dwight Evans

Rep. Tom O’Halleran

Rep. Julia Brownley

Rep. Salud Carbajal

Rep. Kathy Castor

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter

Rep. Donald McEachin

Rep. Donald M. Payne

Rep. Stephen F. Lynch

Rep. Dina Titus

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney

Rep. Rick Larsen

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier

Rep. Colleen Hanabusa

Rep. Alma Adams

Rep. Andre Carson

Rep. Jackie Speier

 

The full text of the letter is below:

August 7, 2017 

VIA ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION:

The Honorable Jeff Sessions                                

Attorney General of the United States

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20540

Dear Attorney General Sessions: 

We write to you to express deep disappointment regarding the brief the Department of Justice filed in the case of Zarda v. Altitude Express, which is pending before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not protect lesbian, gay, bisexual people from discrimination. We believe this action is not only contrary to existing law, but violates our nation’s ideals of liberty and justice for all.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted to better protect Americans who have historically been vulnerable and marginalized. It enshrined the idea that Martin Luther King, Jr. stated so well that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Since then, our country has made incredible progress in working towards protecting the rights of all people, regardless of their race, color, religion, national origin, disability, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation. But we still have a ways to go.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 precludes employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission—the federal agency charged with enforcing Title VII’s provisions and other employment non-discrimination laws—interprets that section to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, based on a growing body of caselaw. In fact, several federal district courts and, most recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit have properly concluded that Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination is understood to include discrimination based on sexual orientation. This reflects a growing consensus that discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation cannot be understood without reference to sex. To argue the opposite defies any reasonable interpretation of what sex discrimination means.

The Department of Justice’s decision to weigh in on the Zarda case is not only incredibly disappointing, but contrary to existing law. Additionally, it comes on the heels of President Trump’s announcement earlier in the day that transgender people will no longer be able to serve their country in the military—a decision that weakens the U.S. Armed Forces. Any discrimination is completely unacceptable. It tears at the fabric of our great nation and does not move us forward; it takes us backward. We urge the Department of Justice to reverse its position and to refrain from arguing against protections for LGBT people in any future Title VII cases dealing with the issue of whether sex discrimination includes discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

 

                                                            Sincerely,