Does a US employer have the right to sack a worker because they are gay or transgender?

That question, which has caused deep divisions within US society, will go before the Supreme Court on Tuesday at a time when the political scene has already reached fever pitch over efforts to impeach President Donald Trump.

The Trump administration has effectively thrown in its lot with the employers, backing a narrow interpretation of a 1964 civil rights law banning discrimination “on the basis of sex.”

“Sex refers to whether you were born woman or man, not your sexual orientation or gender identity,” argued Solicitor General Noel Francisco, representing the government’s position before the court. He said it is the job of Congress to update the law, not the justice system.