Trump officials: Discrimination against gay employees is legal

Officials from the Department of Justice appeared in court yesterday to argue that discrimination against gay employees is legal.

Under President Obama, the Justice Department regularly intervened in court battles to argue for civil rights protections for LGBT people.

But under Trump’s Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Justice Department has abruptly shifted its stance.

The DOJ has made an uninvited intervention in a workplace discrimination case, with officials this week appearing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.

The Manhattan court is currently hearing the case of Donald Zarda, a former skydiving instructor who alleges that his old company, Altitude Express Inc, fired him because of his sexuality.

But in its surprise intervention, federal government officials sided with the employer – arguing that it is entirely legal to discriminate against gay employees on a federal level.

(Getty)

Zarda’s lawyers had cited civil rights protections from the 1960s in their case.

But the Department of Justice now insists that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlaws discrimination in employment based on sex, does not provide any protection for gay people.

As Republicans in Congress have long blocked efforts to pass a specific LGBT anti-discrimination measure, a ruling against Title VII would leave little federal protection for LGBT people facing discrimination at work.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Hashim M. Mooppan appeared before the court this week to argue against gay rights protections.