Justice Dept.: North Carolina LGBT law violates civil rights

A North Carolina law limiting protections to LGBT people violates federal civil rights protections and can't be enforced, The U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday.

The Justice Department's intervention puts the state in danger of losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal school funding.

In a letter to Gov. Pat McCrory, the Justice Department put the state on notice that federal officials view the state law as violating federal Civil Rights Act protections barring workplace discrimination based on sex. Provisions of the state law directed at transgender state employees violate their anti-discrimination protections, the letter said.

McCrory has defended the state law, which limits legal protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. It also requires transgender people to use public bathrooms that conform to the sex on their birth certificate.

"The State is engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination against transgender state employees and both you, in your official capacity, and the state are engaging in a pattern or practice of resistance" of their rights," the letter said.

The letter seeks confirmation by Monday that "the State will not comply with or implement H.B. 2, and that it has notified employees of the State and public agencies that, consistent with federal law, they are permitted to access bathrooms and other facilities consistent with their gender identity."

The government could file a lawsuit to protect state employees from discrimination, the letter said. The Justice Department has also notified the 17-campus University of North Carolina system that the state law also violates Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination in education based on sex, the letter said. That could lead to North Carolina losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal school funding.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.