Every day, across the country, GLBT employees face discrimination in their place of employment because of their real or perceived sexual orientation. While federal law protects against employment discrimination based on race, gender, religion, national origin and disability, there are no federal laws that protect GLBT people from discrimination in the workplace.  In 36 states, it is legal to fire someone based on their sexual orientation.  In 46 states, it is legal to do so based on gender identity.

Most Americans believe employment discrimination is wrong. National polls show that more than three-fourths of voters oppose anti-gay job discrimination and support equal rights in the workplace for lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans. However, only 12 states (CA, CT, HI, MA, MN, NV, NH, NJ, NY, RI, VT, WI) and the District of Columbia have employment anti-discrimination laws. The discrimination extends far beyond discriminatory firings to include denial of domestic partnership benefits and additional tax burdens for those who are able to secure domestic partnership benefits.

In the face of such unfairness, cities, counties and employers are stepping up to fight workplace discrimination and make welcoming work environments for GLBT people by adding sexual orientation to their anti-discrimination policies, by providing domestic partner benefits for their employees and by providing sensitivity and diversity training for their workforces.

For PFLAG’s official policy statement on workplace fairness see Equality in the Workplace.