Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/17-1618_hfci.pdf
Page Number: 47.0

10 

BOSTOCK v. CLAYTON COUNTY 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

sexual orientation or gender identity without knowing the 
sex of the affected individuals, there is no reason why the 
same employer could not lawfully implement the same pol-
icy even if it knows the sex of these individuals.  If an em-
ployer takes an adverse employment action for a perfectly
legitimate reason—for example, because an employee stole
company  property—that  action  is  not  converted  into  sex 
discrimination simply because the employer knows the em-
ployee’s sex.  As explained, a disparate treatment case re-
quires  proof  of  intent—i.e.,  that  the  employee’s  sex  moti-
vated the firing.  In short, what this example shows is that
discrimination because of sexual orientation or gender iden-
tity does not inherently or necessarily entail discrimination 
because of sex, and for that reason, the Court’s chief argu-
ment collapses.

Trying to escape the consequences of the attorney’s con-

cession, the Court offers its own hypothetical: 

“Suppose an employer’s application form offered a sin-
gle box to check if the applicant is either black or Cath-
olic.  If the employer refuses to hire anyone who checks
that box, would we conclude the employer has complied 
with Title VII, so long as it studiously avoids learning 
any particular applicant’s race or religion?  Of course 
not.”  Ante, at 18. 

How this hypothetical proves the Court’s point is a mys-
tery.  A person who checked that box would presumably be 
black, Catholic, or both, and refusing to hire an applicant
because of race or religion is prohibited by Title VII.  Re-
jecting applicants who checked a box indicating that they
are homosexual is entirely different because it is impossible
to  tell  from  that  answer  whether  an  applicant  is  male  or 
female. 

The Court follows this strange hypothetical with an even 
stranger  argument.  The  Court  argues  that  an  applicant