President Joe Biden signed a wide-ranging executive order to extend anti-discrimination protections in federal agencies to LGBTQ people shortly after his inauguration January 20.
The order applies the United States Supreme Court's 6-3 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County last year to the federal government, so that where statutes — such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — ban discrimination on the basis of sex, executive agencies interpret that to also include sexual orientation and gender identity.
"Discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation manifests differently for different individuals, and it often overlaps with other forms of prohibited discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race or disability. For example, transgender Black Americans face unconscionably high levels of workplace discrimination, homelessness, and violence, including fatal violence," Biden's order states. "It is the policy of my administration to prevent and combat discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation, and to fully enforce Title VII and other laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. It is also the policy of my administration to address overlapping forms of discrimination."