Federal Judge In Texas Rules Against LGBTQ+ Employment Protections

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In Thursday’s ruling, Trump-appointed Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk sided with the state of Texas, ruling that while employers are prohibited from discriminating against LGBTQ+ workers, “correlated conduct,” such as bathroom and pronoun usage, are “not necessarily” covered, the Texas Tribune reports. 

A federal judge in Texas has ruled against the Biden administration’s policies regarding protections for LGBTQ+ employees.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton brought the suit against the Biden administration in 2021, after the administration announced new guidelines for LGBTQ+ workers’ protection in the workplace following the landmark 2020 Supreme Court ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County. In that ruling, the Court determined that employment protections under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 apply to LGBTQ+ individuals. 

The suit is one of many that Paxton, a Republican, has brought against the Biden administration. 

In Thursday’s ruling, Trump-appointed Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk sided with the state of Texas, ruling that while employers are prohibited from discriminating against LGBTQ+ workers, “correlated conduct,” such as bathroom and pronoun usage, are “not necessarily” covered, the Texas Tribune reports

Soon after taking office, President Biden issued a series of executive orders which reversed Trump-era policies, including one which extended anti-discrimination protection to LGBTQ+ workers. 

In a statement, Paxton called the ruling a victory, the Tribune further reports, saying that “The Biden Administration’s attempts to radicalize federal law to track its woke political beliefs are beyond dangerous.” 

Legislators in Texas have proposed numerous anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the past few years, with many of those targeting trans and non-binary individuals. In February of this year, Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, issued a directive for state agencies to investigate parents and doctors who provide gender-affirming care for trans youth. Paxton has supported the directive. 

Other states are also pursuing legal action against the Biden administration. In August 2021, 20 states filed suit against the administration over its policies protecting LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination.


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