Apr 4, 2017:

In Chicago, Illinois, by a vote of 8-3, a U.S. Federal Appeals Court ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects LGBT workers from job discrimination.

The 1964 Civil Rights Act protects workers from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, but it does not explicitly address sexual orientation. The ruling today, the first of its kind in a federal appeals court, states that "discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination."

Last month, in Atlanta, Georgia, by a vote of 2-1, in a different case a U.S. Federal Appeals Court ruled the opposite.

Twenty-two U.S. states have laws prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation, but there is no federal law addressing it.

Source:

Williams, Pete. (April 4, 2017). "LGBT Job Discrimination Is Prohibited by Civil Rights Law, Federal Appeals Court Rules". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-04-13.

Campbell, Barbara. (April 5, 2017). "LGBT Employees Protected By Federal Civil Rights Act, Appeals Court Rules". NPR. Retrieved 2017-04-13.