Joschua I wrote this segment for a group discussion in my Human Resource Management class during my exchange semester at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, but thought it would be worth sharing on my personal blog. I had fun researching this important topic, especially as I am only spending a limited time in the U.S.; this is my one chance to learn and immerse myself properly in American issues. When asked to dig into a law affecting human resources decisions in today’s workplace, I wanted to explore something personally important to me, which is why I chose to look into LGBTQ+ workplace discrimination and relevant laws dealing with this issue in the United States.
Previously, in our discussion, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was brought up repeatedly, which is probably one of the most impactful laws when it comes to addressing discrimination in the workplace; I would like to expand on Title VII in the context of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. While Title VII technically has prohibited discrimination based on sex (as well as race, color, religion, and national origin) since 1964, it wasn’t until June 2020 that a landmark Supreme Court ruling in the case Bostock v. Clayton County decided that discrimination based on sex also includes sexual orientation and gender identity. The Supreme Court decision came after Gerald Bostock was fired by his employer because he had joined a gay softball league. Subsequently, it was ruled that it is unlawful for any employer to take someone’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity into account when making employment-related decisions. And because Title VII is a federal law, this would apply to all private companies in all states as well as in D.C. and all of the U.S. territories. The law also applies to anyone regardless of their nationality, even if they aren’t U.S. citizens. The only cases where this law doesn’t apply are in companies with less than 15 employees and for independent contractors.
Essentially what the law does is protecting workers and job-seekers from various types of workplace discrimination, including hiring/firing, demotions/promotions, work assignments, pay, benefits and many more. Interestingly, this also applies to discrimination of heterosexual and cisgender employees which is notably much less common than the counterpart LGBTQ+ portion of the nation’s workforce. In addition to the above-mentioned discriminatory practices, Title VII also covers harassment based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender non-conforming expression. This also includes intentionally misgendering workers, forcing them to wear uniforms not conforming to their gender identity, or forcing transgender workers to use washrooms and changing rooms that conform to their birth sex rather than their gender.
Unfortunately, despite its binding nature in federal law, LGBTQ+ workers regularly face discrimination in today’s working environment. Researchers at the Williams Institute of UCLA recently published a report, the first of its kind since the landmark Bostock v. Clayton County Supreme Court ruling, titled “LGBT People’s Experiences of Workplace Discrimination and Harassment” (Sears et al., 2021; Avery, 2021). Based on survey data, it was determined that 46% of queer employees have at some point in their lives experienced unfair treatment at the workplace based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Highlighting that this problem is still relevant today, it was found that 9% of survey respondents reported experiencing such discrimination in the last year. Unfortunately, the issue is not going away anytime soon, which is why it is so important that awareness continues to be spread and workplace norms continue to evolve. It is vital that awareness of equal treatment based on any trait, including sexual orientation and gender identity, continues to become more acceptable in any work environment. Any worker experiencing discrimination nonetheless is encouraged to report such illegal activity to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. But most incidents likely go unreported because workers are afraid of even more damage being done. The fact that misconduct needs to be reported within 180 days of the incident also discourages people from speaking up about experiences made longer ago.
My conclusion is that, while the law has effectively settled this problem, a lot more work can be done culturally. Any bit of queer exposure in any company can help make the issue of sex-based discrimination more mainstream and socially unacceptable.
Avery, D. (2021, September 8). Half of LGBTQ workers have faced job discrimination, report finds. NBCNews.com. Retrieved April 29, 2022, from https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/half-lgbtq-workers-faced-job-discrimination-report-finds-rcna1935
Sears, B., Mallory, C., Flores, A. R., & Conron, K. J. (2021, September). LGBT People’s experiences of workplace discrimination and harassment. Williams Institute. Retrieved April 29, 2022, from https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/lgbt-workplace-discrimination/
United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (1964). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. EEOC. Retrieved April 29, 2022, from https://www.eeoc.gov/statutes/title-vii-civil-rights-act-1964
