More than 50 major U.S. companies, including tech giants Apple and Microsoft, have signed a legal brief supporting transgender student Gavin Grimm, whose case regarding public bathroom usage is being heard by the Supreme Court, according to a report. The document is scheduled to be filed Thursday by gay rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign.

Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, told the New York Times on Thursday: "These companies are sending a powerful message to transgender children and their families that America's leading businesses have their backs."

The case against the Gloucester County School Board in Virginia is being fought since 2015. Grimm is currently being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Companies such as Apple, Airbnb, Amazon, eBay, IBM, Intel, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PayPal, Salesforce, Twitter, Yahoo, Yelp, MAC Cosmetics, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Warby Parker and Williams-Sonoma have signed the Supreme Court brief.

The legal brief supporting the student arrives one week after President Donald Trump withdrew guidelines passed by former President Barack Obama's administration on public bathroom usage by transgender students. Apple had previously condemned the decision in a statement given to Axios last Wednesday.

"Everyone deserves a chance to thrive in an environment free from stigma and discrimination. We support efforts toward greater acceptance, not less, and we strongly believe that transgender students should be treated as equals. We disagree with any effort to limit or rescind their rights and protections," the tech giant said at the time.

In July 2016, too, more than 60 companies, including Apple, had filed an Amicus Curiae brief against a controversial North Carolina law prohibiting transgender people from entering bathrooms, locker rooms and other such facilities and supporting the Justice Department’s efforts to halt its enforcement.

Source: rawstory