Justice Dept. to North Carolina: Law limiting protections for LGBT people violates federal law

By Matt Zapotosky
May 4 at 5:19 PM - The Washington Post

The Justice Department on Wednesday warned officials in North Carolina that a measure passed recently to stop local governments from extending protections to people who are gay or transgender violates federal civil rights law and should not be implemented.

The letter, from the head of the department’s civil rights division, says the bill is “facially discriminatory against transgender employees on the basis of sex,” and it asks Gov. Pat McCrory (R) to say by Monday whether he will remedy the situation by ignoring the new state law.

The letter was reported by The Charlotte Observer, and a Justice Department official confirmed its contents to the Washington Post.

North Carolina’s law — which requires people who are transgender to use bathrooms that correspond with the gender they were born with — has sparked controversy across country, and the Justice Department’s assessment could indicate financial consequences are possible.

At least five federal agencies are weighing whether to withhold funds from North Carolina, including the Education Department, which provides the state hundreds of millions of dollars each year.