Gay rights advocates have tried for more than a decade to get Congress to outlaw employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Now the Obama administration, in a court filing, has quietly suggested that discrimination is already banned by a 52-year-old federal law.

If the courts go along, lesbians and gays would have a voice in the workplace they have previously lacked in a majority of states.

…

“It will mark a major advance by offering a federal remedy for employment discrimination that would not, given the current political givens, exist without it,” said Jane Schacter, a Stanford law professor.

…

Asked if the filing amounted to a statement that antigay discrimination was barred by law, Justice Department spokesman Patrick Rodenbush declined to comment. But Schacter, the Stanford law professor, said the department’s filing appears to “signal acceptance of the EEOC’s ruling” that such discrimination is already illegal.