Lambda Legal has won victories in two class action lawsuits on behalf of surviving same-sex partners and spouses across the country who were denied Social Security survivor’s benefits because they were unable to be married for at least nine months before their partners and spouses died because of discriminatory state marriage laws. Trial courts in Ely v. Saul and Thornton v.

Today, U.S. Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) announced the introduction of the Equality Act, federal legislation that will update existing federal nondiscrimination laws, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act, to confirm that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is unlawful discrimination based on sex.

In response to a lawsuit filed by a foster youth and alumni group as well as LGBTQ service and advocacy organizations, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has agreed to a court order that immediately stayed the effective date of a discriminatory Trump-era rule.

President Biden today rescinded the Trump administration executive order that prohibited federal contractors and grantees from conducting workplace diversity trainings or engaging in grant-funded work that explicitly acknowledges and confronts the existence of structural racism and sexism in our society.