President Trump’s administration has told the Supreme Court that transgender workers are not protected by federal civil rights law and can be fired because of their gender. The US government is arguing workers should only be protected from discrimination based on their “biological sex”. A Supreme Court ruling in favour of the administration’s position would set a legal precedent, marking a major setback for LGBTQ rights. The 1964 Civil Rights Act states employers cannot discriminate based on sex, race, colour, religion, and national origin. New claims argue that “Title VII [of the act] does not prohibit discrimination against transgender persons based on their transgender status,” . Under Barack Obama, the Justice Department decreed that Title VII did protect transgender workers. Former attorney general Jeff Sessions reversed the government’s stance after Mr Trump took office in 2017. The Trump administration has also banned transgender people from joining the military, reversing another Obama-era policy that allowed them to openly serve.