A gay-rightsflag outside the U.S. Supreme Court. Photo: Diego M.Radzinschi/NLJ

A brief set to be filed Wednesdayin the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of 206 corporations assertsthat ending discrimination against LGBTQ workers is “good forbusiness, employees, and the U.S. economy.”

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan partner Todd Anten In New York iscounsel of record in the pro bono brief, one of a wave of filingsexpected this week in three consolidated cases set for argumentOct. 8: R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC,Bostock v. Clayton County, and Altitude Express v.Zarda.

Together, the three cases raise the question whether Title VIIof the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits workplace discrimination“because of sex,” can be interpreted to apply to sexual orientationand transgender status.

Federal appeals courts are divided over the scope of protectionfor gay, lesbian and transgender workers under civil rights laws.The U.S. Justice Department is expected to urge thejustices to exclude federal civil-rights protections for thoseworkers.

A statement by the Human Rights Campaign, one of the backers ofthe brief, boasts that “The landmark brief has more corporatesigners than any previous business brief in an LGBTQnon-discrimination case.”

Emphasizing the scale of the support for LGBTQ workers, thebrief lists all 206 corporations at both the beginning and end ofthe filing.

“The 206 businesses that join this brief as amici collectivelyemploy over 7 million employees, and comprise over $5 trillion inrevenue,” Anten wrote.

“At this critical moment in the fight for LGBTQ equality, theseleading businesses are sending a clear message to the Supreme Courtthat LGBTQ people should, like their fellow Americans, continue tobe protected from discrimination,” said Jay Brown, a vice presidentof the HRC Foundation.

The companies that joined the brief, Anten said, “support theprinciple that no one should be passed over for a job, paid less,fired, or subjected to harassment or any other form ofdiscrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity… When workplaces are free from discrimination against LGBTemployees, everyone can do their best work, with substantialbenefits for both employers and employees.”

In 2017, Quinn Emanuel's Anten had filed an amicus brief on behalfof 50 companies supporting broad LGBT workplace rights. He told NLJin an interview last year that Lambda Legal had reached out to thefirm, which had done a pro bono relationship with the advocacygroup.

Tuesday's brief (posted below) follows in the footsteps of othermass-business filings in high-profile Supreme Court cases.

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In the 2003 affirmative action case Grutter v. Bollinger, JusticeSandra Day O'Connor cited two business briefs and wrote, “MajorAmerican businesses have made clear that the skills needed intoday's increasingly global marketplace can only be developedthrough exposure to widely diverse people, cultures, ideas, andviewpoints.” Similar briefs were filed in subsequent affirmativeaction cases.

In the realm of more recent gay rights cases, businesses havealso been vocal in favor of equality. In the 2015 Obergefell v.Hodges case, 379 employers and employer organizationsfiled a brief favoring same-sexmarriage. Susan Baker Manning of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius wascounsel of record in the same-sex marriage brief.