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Lost U.S. Supreme Court

Harris Funeral Homes v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Supreme Court to Weigh In: Who Has the Power to Rewrite the Law?

Summary

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit over the discharge of an employee who refused to comply with a Michigan funeral home’s sex-specific dress code, which requires employees to dress in a manner sensitive to grieving family members and friends. The EEOC attempted to force the business to allow a biologically male employee to wear a female uniform while interacting with the public.

Case Documents

Court
Title
Date
U.S. Supreme Court
6/15/2020
U.S. Supreme Court
8/16/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
11/6/2018
U.S. Supreme Court
7/20/2018
Appellate Court
3/7/2018
U.S. Supreme Court
8/18/2016
U.S. Supreme Court
6/1/2015

Additional Resources

One-page summary

U.S. Supreme Court oral argument transcript and audio

John Bursch: What the ACLU didn’t tell you at the Emmys about the Harris Supreme Court case (Washington Examiner, 2019-09-26)

John Bursch: Much at stake in transgender Supreme Court case (Detroit News, 2019-09-25)

John Bursch: SCOTUS must reaffirm the meaning of ‘sex’ in antidiscrimination law (National Review, 2019-08-19)

John Bursch: This lawsuit over ‘sex’ and ‘gender identity’ will have sweeping implications (Daily Signal, 2019-07-26)

Thomas Rost: I did what was best for my business. Will the Supreme Court punish me for it? (Washington Post, 2019-07-03)

John Bursch: HHS restores legal meaning of ‘sex’—what will US Supreme Court, Congress do? (The Hill, 2019-06-13)

Kristen Waggoner: The Left preaches diversity while forcing conformity through culture and courts (The Federalist, 2019-06-11)

Kristen Waggoner: Bureaucrats shouldn’t be involved in gender politics at funeral homes (Daily Caller, 2019-05-01)

Jeana Hallock: SCOTUS to rule on whether men can wear women’s clothes on the job (The Federalist, 2019-04-29)

Thomas Rost: EEOC uses my funeral homes to rewrite laws (Detroit News, 2019-04-25)

David Cortman: Keep the government out of the grieving process (National Review, 2019-04-23)

Jay Hobbs: Should grieving families be forced to deal with a cross-dressing funeral home employee? (Daily Caller, 2018-11-25)

Case Profiles

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John Bursch
John Bursch
Senior Counsel, Vice President of Appellate Advocacy
John Bursch is senior counsel and vice president of appellate advocacy with Alliance Defending Freedom.