A Michigan district court ruled in favor of a Baptist-owned funeral home’s firing of their transgender funeral director, Aimee Stephens, after she asked to dress as female at work as part of her transition. Following the Supreme Court’s reasoning in Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby, Michigan’s court ruled that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act can be used to allow religious employers to fire their employees based on their sexuality, if it places a “substantial burden” on their religious beliefs.
This ruling occurred in Michigan where this are no protections for discrimination against LGBT+ people in the workplace. And while the federal government has taken some steps to protect LGBT+ people’s rights at work, current laws do not explicitly protect against this type of discrimination. This means that in some jurisdictions, as the Atlantic observes, “someone can win a discrimination case if her boss fires her because of her butch haircut, but not if her boss fires her for being a lesbian.”