A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit ruled 2-1 in March that the 1964 Civil Rights Act doesn’t protect against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. That ruling was in line with decisions by other federals appeals courts over the past four decades.

A few weeks later, in early April, the full 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago reached the opposite conclusion in a case filed by a former part-time instructor who said an Indiana community college didn’t hire her full time because she is a lesbian. The court stated decisively that the 53-year-old law’s protections apply to gay and lesbian workers just as they prohibit discrimination based on race, religion or national origin.