Justice Dept. Says HB2 Violates Civil Rights Act; Gives Pat McCrory Monday Deadline...

Governor Pat McCrory must notify the Department of Justice by Monday that the state “will not comply with or implement HB2” or it risks violating the Civil Rights Act and losing hundreds of millions in federal funding, the Charlotte Observer reports:

The letter says HB2, which pre-empted Charlotte’s anti-discrimination ordinance, violates Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination in education based on sex, and Title VII, which bars employers from discriminating.

If that determination is upheld, North Carolina could lose millions in federal school funding. During the current school year, state public schools received $861 million in federal funding.

In the letter, Vanita Gupta, principal deputy assistant attorney general, said, “”…The Department of Justice has determined that, as a result of compliance with and implementation of NC House Bill2, both you and the state of NC are in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 0f 1964…

“Title VII prohibits an employer from discriminating against an individual on the basis of sex and from otherwise resisting the full enjoyment of Title VII rights….Federal courts and administrative agencies have applied Title VII to discrimination against transgender individuals based on sex, including gender identity….

The letter gives McCrory a deadline: “Please advise the department, therefore, no later than the close of business on May 9, 2016, whether you will remedy these violations of Title VII including by confirming that the state will not comply with or implement HB2.”

According to the paper, the NC Department of Public Safety and the University of North Carolina have also been notified they’re in violation of Title IX by implementing the law.

Here’s the letter.