More than 200 companies urged the Supreme Court on Tuesday to apply the nation’s job discrimination laws to sexual orientation and gender identity. In three major civil rights cases the justices will hear when they return to the bench in October, the companies – which together employ more than 7 million workers and have more than $5 trillion in revenue – said “the U.S. economy benefits from a diverse workforce.” The cases from New York, Michigan and Georgia involve workers who claim they were fired because they were gay or transgender. A New York skydiving instructor, Donald Zarda, said he was fired because he was gay. He has died, but his sister and life partner continue to press the case. A Georgia county government employee, Gerald Bostock, alleged he was fired from his job as a child welfare services coordinator because he is gay. A Michigan transgender woman, Aimee Stephens, said she was fired from the funeral home where she worked for six years as Anthony Stephens because of her transition.