Dozens of major U.S. companies have joined a “friend of the court” brief supporting transgender student Gavin Grimm in the Supreme Court case G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board, the LGBTQ-rights group Human Rights Campaign (HRC) announced Thursday morning.
Grimm, a transgender boy, filed a suit against the Virginia school board alleging it violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by denying him to use the bathroom that corresponds with his gender identity. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in his case on March 28.
“Diversity and inclusion are essential features of amici’s businesses, and recruiting and retaining the best employees—including those in or allied with the transgender community—is a critical component of their diversity missions,” the amicus brief states.
The 53 companies that signed on to the brief, which HRC plans to submit Thursday, include Airbnb, Amazon, Apple, Gap, IBM, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Spotify and Twitter.
“These companies are sending a powerful message to transgender children and their families that America’s leading businesses have their backs,” HRC President Chad Griffin said in a statement. “Across the country, corporate leaders are speaking out because they know attacking transgender youth isn't just shameful—it also puts the families of their employees and customers at risk.”
Related: Both Sides Tell Supreme Court to Go Ahead With Transgender-Rights Case
This is not the first time corporations have made their support for the LGBTQ community know to the Supreme Court. Ahead of the court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 landmark case that made same-sex marriage the law of the land, 379 U.S. companies signed a brief in support of same-sex marriage.
