Bostock v. Clayton County

Decided June 15, 2020. Neil M. Gorsuch delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 17-1618 · 590 U.S. 644 (2020) · Cited 1,289 times

Holding

An employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–3.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. · 523 U.S. 75 (1998)
• Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins · 490 U.S. 228 (1989)
• City of Los Angeles Department of Water v. Manhart · 435 U.S. 702 (1978)
• Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp. · 400 U.S. 542 (1971)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
• Pennsylvania Department of Corrections v. Yeskey · 524 U.S. 206 (1998)
• West Virginia University Hospitals, Inc. v. Casey · 499 U.S. 83 (1991)
• Chisom v. Roemer · 501 U.S. 380 (1991)
• Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T Inc. · 562 U.S. 397 (2011)
• Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 565 U.S. 171 (2012)
• Boutilier v. Immigration & Naturalization Service · 387 U.S. 118 (1967)
• Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White · 548 U.S. 53 (2006)
• Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson · 477 U.S. 57 (1986)
• Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. · 557 U.S. 167 (2009)
• Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc. · 582 U.S. 79 (2017)
• New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira · 586 U.S. 105 (2019)
• Furman v. Georgia · 408 U.S. 238 (1972)
• Sedima, S. P. R. L. v. Imrex Co. · 473 U.S. 479 (1985)
• Connecticut National Bank v. Germain · 503 U.S. 249 (1992)
• Bolling v. Sharpe · 347 U.S. 497 (1954)
• Craig v. Boren · 429 U.S. 190 (1976)
• Reed v. Reed · 404 U.S. 71 (1971)
• Central Bank of Denver, N. A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N. A. · 511 U.S. 164 (1994)
• Texas v. Johnson · 491 U.S. 397 (1989)
• Frontiero v. Richardson · 411 U.S. 677 (1973)
• Lawrence v. Texas · 539 U.S. 558 (2003)
• Whitman v. American Trucking Assns., Inc. · 531 U.S. 457 (2001)
• Romer v. Evans · 517 U.S. 620 (1996)
• Watson v. Fort Worth Bank & Trust · 487 U.S. 977 (1988)
• Custis v. United States · 511 U.S. 485 (1994)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services · 605 U.S. 303 (2025)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Neil M. Gorsuch’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2020). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).