The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will hear arguments in a high-profile case next week that could telegraph what’s to come in the ongoing legal battle over whether sexual orientation should be protected under federal civil rights law. Zarda v. Altitude Express is also notable in that it pits two government agencies—the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission—against each other in the courtroom.
After a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit ruled back in April that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not protect LGBTQ workers, the full appeals court agreed to revisit the decision en banc. Arguments are scheduled for Sept. 26 in New York.
