R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC & Aimee Stephens
What's at Stake
Aimee Stephens had worked for nearly six years as a funeral director at R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Homes when she informed the funeral home’s owner that she is a transgender woman. She was fired, the EEOC sued on her behalf, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Aimee’s employer engaged in unlawful sex discrimination when it fired her because she’s transgender. We represented Aimee Stephens in front of the U.S. Supreme Court — and won.
Summary
Aimee spent nearly 20 years over three decades working in funeral services, a career she discovered while studying to become a Baptist minister. She enjoyed knowing that she was helping people remember their loved ones at peace and received positive feedback from her employer and coworkers.
Aimee said that as early as age five, she knew she was a girl. In 2008, Aimee started seeing a therapist to discuss and explore her knowledge that she is a woman. By 2012, Aimee made the decision to tell her coworkers that she is a woman. Two weeks after she told her boss in 2013, she was fired. This caused Aimee and her wife Donna to suffer financially and left Aimee without health insurance when her kidney’s failed.
After Aimee was fired, the ACLU assisted Aimee with the filing of a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC sued the funeral home for sex discrimination and the ACLU has joined the case to ensure Aimee’s interests are protected as the case moves forward. In March of 2018, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Aimee was unlawfully fired and that federal sex discrimination laws protect transgender people.
The Supreme Court was asked to consider whether it is sex discrimination under federal civil rights statutes to fire someone because the person is transgender, and on June 15, 2020, the court ruled it is illegal to fire someone for being LGBTQ.
Most Americans understand that it’s both wrong and unlawful to fire someone for being LGBTQ. No one should have to live in fear that they can be fired just because of who they are.
Legal Documents
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06/15/2020
Bostock v. Clayton County: Supreme Court Opinion -
09/10/2019
Reply Brief for Respondent Aimee Stephens -
08/16/2019
Brief of the Department of Justice -
08/16/2019
Brief of Petitioner Harris Funeral Home -
06/26/2019
Brief of Respondent Aimee Stephens -
06/06/2019
Joint Appendix -
11/06/2018
Petitioner's Reply -
10/24/2018
Brief in Opposition to Cert -
10/24/2018
EEOC Brief in Opposition to Cert -
08/23/2018
Amicus Briefs in Support of Petitioner -
- Amicus Brief for Nebraska, Alabama, et al.
- Amicus Brief for Public Advocates of the United States
- Amicus Brief for Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty
- Amicus Brief for Foundation for Moral Law
R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC & Aimee StephensLegal DocumentsAmicus Brief for Nebraska, Alabama, et al.Date Filed: 08/23/2018
Court: United States Supreme Court
R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC & Aimee StephensLegal DocumentsAmicus Brief for Public Advocates of the United StatesDate Filed: 08/23/2018
Court: United States Supreme Court
R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC & Aimee StephensLegal DocumentsAmicus Brief for Jewish Coalition for Religious LibertyDate Filed: 08/23/2018
Court: United States Supreme Court
R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC & Aimee StephensLegal DocumentsAmicus Brief for Foundation for Moral LawDate Filed: 08/23/2018
Court: United States Supreme Court
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07/20/2018
Petition for Writ of Certiorari
Date Filed: 06/15/2020
Court: United States Supreme Court
Date Filed: 09/10/2019
Court: United States Supreme Court
Date Filed: 08/16/2019
Court: United States Supreme Court
Date Filed: 08/16/2019
Court: United States Supreme Court
Date Filed: 06/26/2019
Court: United States Supreme Court
Date Filed: 06/06/2019
Court: United States Supreme Court
Date Filed: 11/06/2018
Court: United States Supreme Court
Date Filed: 10/24/2018
Court: United States Supreme Court
Date Filed: 10/24/2018
Court: United States Supreme Court
Date Filed: 07/20/2018
Court: United States Supreme Court
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03/07/2018
EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes - Ruling -
06/12/2017
EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris - Reply Brief of Intervenor Aimee Stephens -
06/09/2017
EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris - Reply Brief of Appellant EEOC -
05/17/2017
EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris - Responsive Brief of Appellee R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. -
05/24/2017
EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris - Amicus Brief in Support of Appellee by Public Advocates of the United States, et al. -
04/26/2017
Amicus Briefs in Support of Appellant and Intervenor -
- Seventy-Six Members of the Clergy, et al.
- Equality Ohio
- Private Rights/Public Conscience Project
- Lambda Legal Legal Defense and Education Fund, et al.
- Unitarian Universalist Association
R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC & Aimee StephensLegal DocumentsSeventy-Six Members of the Clergy, et al.Date Filed: 04/26/2017
Court: Appeals Court (6th Cir.)
R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC & Aimee StephensLegal DocumentsEquality OhioDate Filed: 04/26/2017
Court: Appeals Court (6th Cir.)
R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC & Aimee StephensLegal DocumentsPrivate Rights/Public Conscience ProjectDate Filed: 04/26/2017
Court: Appeals Court (6th Cir.)
R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC & Aimee StephensLegal DocumentsLambda Legal Legal Defense and Education Fund, et al.Date Filed: 04/26/2017
Court: Appeals Court (6th Cir.)
R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC & Aimee StephensLegal DocumentsUnitarian Universalist AssociationDate Filed: 04/26/2017
Court: Appeals Court (6th Cir.)
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04/26/2017
EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes - Intervenor Opening Brief -
02/10/2017
EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes - Appellant EEOC Opening Brief -
01/26/2017
Motion to Intervene -
- Motion to Intervene as Plaintiff-Appellant
- Defendant-Appellee Response in Opposition
- Reply in Support of Motion to Intervene as Plaintiff-Appellant
- Order Granting Motion to Intervene
R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC & Aimee StephensLegal DocumentsMotion to Intervene as Plaintiff-AppellantDate Filed: 01/26/2017
Court: Appeals Court (6th Cir.)
R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC & Aimee StephensLegal DocumentsDefendant-Appellee Response in OppositionDate Filed: 02/06/2017
Court: Appeals Court (6th Cir.)
R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC & Aimee StephensLegal DocumentsReply in Support of Motion to Intervene as Plaintiff-AppellantDate Filed: 02/13/2017
Court: Appeals Court (6th Cir.)
R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v EEOC & Aimee StephensLegal DocumentsOrder Granting Motion to InterveneDate Filed: 03/27/2017
Court: Appeals Court (6th Cir.)
Date Filed: 03/07/2018
Court: Appeals Court (6th Cir.)
Date Filed: 06/12/2017
Court: Appeals Court (6th Cir.)
Date Filed: 06/09/2017
Court: Appeals Court (6th Cir.)
Date Filed: 05/17/2017
Court: Appeals Court (6th Cir.)
Date Filed: 05/24/2017
Court: Appeals Court (6th Cir.)
Date Filed: 04/26/2017
Court: Appeals Court (6th Cir.)
Date Filed: 02/10/2017
Court: Appeals Court (6th Cir.)
Press Releases
ACLU Comment on Settlement of Aimee Stephens’ Historic Discrimination Case
Supreme Court Rules it is Against the Law to Fire LGBTQ People
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear LGBTQ Workplace Discrimination Cases
Funeral Home Unlawfully Discriminated Against Its Employee By Firing Her For Being Transgender, a Federal Appeals Court Rules
