North Carolina has received the strongest condemnation yet of the controversial anti-LGBT legislation signed into law earlier this year through a letter from the United States Department of Justice.

The notice was sent to Governor Pat McCrory on Wednesday.

The letter says House Bill 2 violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, the letter says, “the State is engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination against transgender state employees and both you, in your official capacity, and the State are engaging in a pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of Title VII rights by transgender employees of public agencies.”

The letter says that HB2 is “facially discriminatory against transgender employees” by forcing them to use the bathroom that matches their biological sex rather than their gender identity.

Governor McCrory has until close of business of May 9, according to the letter, to alert the Department of Justice as to how the state will “remedy these violations” by confirming that the state “will not comply with or implement H.B. 2.”

The correspondence to the governor says that a letter was also sent to the state Department of Public Safety and the UNC System notifying the agencies they were in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as well as the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. The Title IX violation puts billions of dollars of federal funding at risk for North Carolina.

Governor McCrory released a statement just before seven o’clock on Monday night saying the DOJ claim now puts the privacy of North Carolinians “in jeopardy.” The full statement from the governor is below:

“A claim by the Obama administration charges that one part of House Bill 2, which requires state employees in public government buildings and students in our universities to use a restroom, locker room and shower facility that match their biological sex, is now in violation of federal law. The Obama administration has not only staked out its position for North Carolina, but for all states, universities and most employers in the U.S.

The right and expectation of privacy in one of the most private areas of our personal lives is now in jeopardy. We will be reviewing to determine the next steps.”

UNC System President Margaret Spellings released a statement confirming the University System had received the letter from the DOJ:

“We were notified this afternoon that the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has determined the UNC system is in violation of federal nondiscrimination law as it relates to the NC Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, commonly known as HB2. We take this determination seriously and will be conferring with the Governor’s Office, legislative leaders, and counsel about next steps and will respond to the Department by its May 9 deadline.”

The national American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of North Carolina and Lambda Legal, which are suing the state over HB2 released the following statement after the letter to the governor was made public:

“It is now clearer than ever that this discriminatory law violates civil rights protections and jeopardizes billions of dollars in federal funds for North Carolina. Governor McCrory and the legislators who forced through HB 2 in a single day were warned about these dire consequences, but they ignored the law and the North Carolinians it would harm and passed the bill anyway. The only way to reverse the ongoing damage HB 2 is causing to North Carolina’s people, economy, and reputation is a full repeal.”

This story will be updated as more information is made available

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