It also blocks any local unit of government from requiring that companies bar discrimination on any basis not already covered by state law.

Among other things, Congress made clear that the law barred private as well as state-sponsored discrimination.

It also barred discrimination against teachers who espouse creationism as science.

It bars discrimination in jobs, housing and public accommodations based on a person's sexual orientation.

Federal laws now bar discrimination, but mechanisms of segregation endure.

The laws, many enacted some 30 years ago, barred discrimination based on race, creed, color and national origin.

The city's human rights law has long barred discrimination based on gender.

Several other cases on the docket involve interpretation of the Federal law that bars discrimination in employment.

Although the law also bars discrimination on the basis of race and religion, it has been used solely against clubs that bar women from membership.

There is no Federal anti-discrimination law that bars discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation.