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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. 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.