Could they lock in civil rights for gays and transgenders?
The Supreme Court on Monday said it would hear three cases determining whether federal law protects individuals from LGBTQ discrimination in the workplace.
The court, in an unsigned order, said it would review all three cases on the matter, but ordered that two of the cases be combined into one argument.
The two merged cases asked whether discrimination over sexual orientation falls under Title VII of the Civil Rights act. The statue blocks discrimination in the workplace because of sex.
The court said it will also examine if the same federal statute offers the same protections to transgender people in the workplace, based on their transgender identification.