Final appeal goes to the U.S. Supreme Court. State systems vary, but generally after a person has reached the state's highest court, he or she can appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court sits at the top of both systems, the final arbiter of our constitutional rights. The federal government isn't the main actor here. It's the state of New Jersey.
New Jersey has a law forbidding discrimination based on sexual orientation in public places.
The U.S. Supreme Court has just heard the Scouts appeal of that First Amendment issue and will likely rule on the case in late June. If a private employer engaged in similar conduct the EEOC would at least investigate. No one has charged that the justices are deliberately discriminating against racial minorities. The people on the Hill and in civil rights groups who have complained about the dearth of minority clerks are, rather, trying to encourage the justices to broaden the pool of applicants and put more of a priority on hiring blacks and Hispanics. Ms. Biskupic, We certainly will miss your articulate, well-written articles.