LGBT Workers Not Covered by Federal Bias Law: 5th Cir.

A federal appeals court said its 40-year-old precedent that federal civil rights law doesn’t apply to gay workers also means that transgender workers aren’t covered.

A lower court was wrong to say the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit hadn’t yet ruled on coverage of transgender workers, the circuit court said.

The circuit tossed a discrimination lawsuit by a transgender job candidate against Phillips 66 on other grounds. But the court’s decision clarifies that federal law doesn’t prohibit workplace bias against LGBT individuals within the circuit, which covers Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

While the question of whether Title ...