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

Harris Funeral Homes v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | Bostock v. Clayton County

Lost U.S. Supreme Court
Last Updated

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.

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Legal Documents

Court
Title
Date
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Supreme Court opinion
6/15/2020
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Supreme Court oral argument transcript
10/8/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - The Muslim American Leaders
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Advocates for Faith and Freedom
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Ryan T. Anderson
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - William J. Bennett
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Business organizations
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Center for Arizona Policy
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Christian Employers Alliance
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Family policy groups
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Foundation for Moral Law
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Great Lakes Justice Center
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Walt Heyer, Jamie Shupe, Linda Seiler, Hacsi Horvath, Clifton Francis Burleigh, Jr., Laura Perry, Jeffrey Johnston, Jeffrey McCall, and Kathy Grace Duncan
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - H.T. Hackney Co.
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Institute for Faith and Family and Christian Family Coalition
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Judicial Watch
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Liberty Counsel
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Dr. Paul R. McHugh, M.D.
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Members of Congress
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Military Spouses United
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - National medical and policy groups that study sex and gender identity
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - National Organization for Marriage and Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Public Advocate of the United States et al.
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Religious Freedom Institute’s Islam & Religious Freedom Action Team and Islamic scholars
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Women business owners and CEOs
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Scholars of philosophy, theology, law, politics, history, literature, and the sciences
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - States of Tennessee et al.
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and other religious organizations
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Scholars of family and sexuality
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - New Civil Liberties Alliance
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - American Public Philosophy Institute
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Samaritan’s Purse, Concerned Women for America, National Legal Foundation, Pacific Justice Institute, and The International Conference of Evangelical Chaplain Endorsers
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Free Speech Advocates
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Independent Women’s Forum and 1,013 athletes and parents
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Defend My Privacy, Citygate Network, Phoenix Dream Center, and Students and Parents for Privacy
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - First Liberty Institute
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - Women’s Liberation Front
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Amicus brief in support of petitioner - David A. Robinson
8/23/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Brief for the Petitioner
8/16/2019
U.S. Supreme Court
Reply brief for petitioner
11/6/2018
U.S. Supreme Court
Petition for writ of certiorari
7/20/2018
Appellate Court
6th circuit opinion and order
3/7/2018
U.S. Supreme Court
District court opinion and order
8/18/2016
U.S. Supreme Court
Motion for and brief in support of summary judgment
4/7/2016
U.S. Supreme Court
Amended complaint
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)

 

Biographies

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. Bursch has argued 12 U.S. Supreme Court cases and three dozen state supreme court cases, and he has successfully litigated six matters with at least $1 billion at stake.
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