The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has refused in a new ruling to expand federal workplace discrimination protections based on sexual orientation.

In the case, O'Daniel v. Industrial Service Solutions, the plaintiff Bonnie O'Daniel alleged she was discriminated against for being heterosexual, after she wrote a Facebook post about the propriety of a man wearing a dress in Target using a women's restroom or dressing room alongside her young daughters. One of her company's co-owners was part of the LGBT community, and took offense at the post and wanted to fire O'Daniel.

After a series of workplace disputes, O'Daniel in the end lost her job and then sued, alleging she was discriminated against for her sexual orientation of heterosexual, a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on sex, race, color, national origin and religion. The district court dismissed the case for failing to state a claim under Title VII. O'Daniel appealed to the Fifth Circuit.