The Michigan Supreme Court in Rouch World, LLC v. Department of Civil Rights, No. 162482 (July 18, 2022), interpreted the prohibition in the Michigan Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) against "sex" discrimination in places of public accommodation (Article 3 of the ELCRA). Relying on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, 590 U.S. _ (2020), the Michigan Supreme Court held that the prohibition against "sex" discrimination in places of public accommodation includes discrimination based on "sexual orientation". 

The Michigan Supreme Court's interpretation of "sex" discrimination in the ELCRA as to places of public accommodation will be applied to claims of discrimination ELCRA in other contexts, such as claims of housing discrimination (Article 5 of the ELCRA).

At the federal level, instances of housing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity are already prohibited under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) under Executive Order 13988, Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation (Jan. 20, 2021) and HUD's Office of Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity's Implementation of Executive Order 13988 on the Enforcement of the Fair Housing Act (Feb. 11, 2021). Federal guidance, similar to the Michigan Supreme Court's analysis in Rouch World, LLC, are based on the Bostock decision. Lower federal courts, prior to Bostock and subsequent federal guidance, had already interpreted the FHA to prohibit housing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Fair Housing Center remains available to answer questions, provide training, and investigate complaints involving sex discrimination and other protected class categories.