(Christian Headlines) Hobby Lobby violated an Illinois anti-discrimination law when it prohibited a biological male employee who identifies as female from using the women’s restroom, an appeals court ruled Friday.
The unanimous decision by a three-judge state appeals court panel upheld a ruling by the state’s Human Rights Commission, which had fined Hobby Lobby $220,000 and ruled the company violated the Illinois Human Rights Act when its East Aurora, Ill., store prohibited Meggan Sommerville – a transgender woman – from using the women’s restroom. The store instead allowed her to use a unisex restroom.
The $220,000 was to cover Sommerville’s emotional distress and attorney’s fees.