Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/17-1618_hfci.pdf
Page Number: 48.0

Cite as:  590 U. S. ____ (2020) 

11 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

could not answer the question whether he or she is homo-
sexual without knowing something about sex.  If the appli-
cant was unfamiliar with the term “homosexual,” the appli-
cant would have to look it up or ask what the term means. 
And because this applicant would have to take into account
his or her sex and that of the persons to whom he or she is
sexually  attracted  to  answer  the  question,  it  follows,  the
Court reasons, that an employer could not reject this appli-
cant without taking the applicant’s sex into account.  See 
ante, at 18–19. 

This  is  illogical.  Just  because  an  applicant  cannot  say
whether  he  or  she  is  homosexual  without  knowing  his  or
her own sex and that of the persons to whom the applicant 
is attracted, it does not follow that an employer cannot re-
ject an applicant based on homosexuality without knowing 
the applicant’s sex.

While the Court’s imagined application form proves noth-
ing, another hypothetical case offered by the Court is tell-
ing.  But what it proves is not what the Court thinks.  The 
Court posits: 

“Imagine  an  employer  who  has  a  policy  of  firing  any 
employee  known  to  be  homosexual.    The  employer
hosts an office holiday party and invites employees to 
bring their spouses.  A model employee arrives and in-
troduces a manager to Susan, the employee’s wife.  Will 
that employee be fired?  If the policy works as the em-
ployer  intends,  the  answer  depends  entirely  on 
whether  the  model  employee  is  a  man  or  a  woman.” 
Ante, at 11. 

This example disproves the Court’s argument because it 
is  perfectly  clear  that  the  employer’s  motivation  in  firing
the female employee had nothing to do with that employee’s 
sex.  The  employer  presumably  knew  that  this  employee 
was  a  woman  before  she  was  invited  to  the  fateful  party.
Yet  the  employer,  far  from  holding  her  biological  sex