Discrimination In The Workplace Concerning The LGBTQ+ Community

Many cities in Texas still do not protect transgender or people's gender identity in the workplace. Meaning that a person could be fired or not hired by just their sexual orientation or gender identity. 22 out of the 50 states have made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation which is less than half of the country (Midwest New Media). This leaves the rest of the 28 states have the ability to discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation free of charge.

This is a national issue rather than a state issue because although there are still laws protecting the LGBTQ+ members in some states there is still oppression in the rest of the states. About 89% of Americans think it is illegal by federal law to fire a person because of their gender identity (Hunt, 2012).

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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This act protects race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. In 2014 President Obama announced that sexual discrimination is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This was agreed by the Attorney general and the EEOC. Then in 2017 the Trump administration Department of Justice broke with the precedent and declared that Title VII did not cover sexual orientation discrimination. The decision meant that the executive branch’s law enforcement agency would not stand against workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (2018).

Aimee Stephens was fired from her job because she transitioned from her gender. She then sued the employer for sex discrimination. The case became the first trans gender right case to receive a hearing from the Supreme Court (Burns, 2020).

Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia. Bostock was fired from his job because he joined a gay baseball team. The case went to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the decision is still pending (Barnes, 2019). Donald Zarda was fired from his job because he told a client he was gay. The Supreme Court will also hear about this case and the decision is still pending (Barnes, 2019).

Texas currently has no laws that protect people from their sexual orientation or gender identity. In 2017 advocates in Texas faced two legislative sessions where discriminatory legislation took center stage. However most of the bills that were passed were against the LGBTQ+ community (2018). A bill in Nebraska concerning sexual orientation discrimination has been put on hold for more than five years (Pluhacek & Lincoln Journal Star, 2015).

Article 20 of the Swazi Constitution provides for equality before the law and non-discrimination, but does not prevent discrimination on the grounds of sex, language, sexual orientation, and gender identity (2018). Under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, employers are prohibited from discriminating on an individual’s sexual orientation (2018). Under Iranian law, same-sex conduct is punishable by flogging and, for men, the death penalty (2018).

Minorities are mostly affected by this because being transgender and a minority makes it harder for them to be able to have a safe working environment. Minorities as it is discriminated against in the workplace being trnsgender would make it dangerous. The individual will most likely lose their job. Same-sex couples are mostlikely to be in poverty than heterosexual couples. This is due to the lack of discrimination they receive. Evidence has shown that gay and bisexual men who earned higher higher incomes were significantly less likely to report discrimination compared to those of lower socioeconomic position (Gamarel, Reisner, Parsons, & Golub, 2012).

According to a poll made by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health 32% percent of LGBTQ+ of color and 13% percent white said they have been discriminated against when applying for a job. This shows that there is still persistent discrimination, and that it not only affects one state but the whole country. Democrats want LGBTQ+ members to be treated equally and be protected by the law. They want to pass an act called the Equality Act in which sexual orientation and gender identity is protected by making it illegal to discriminate against all protected classes in retail stores, banks, emergency shelters, transit and pharmacies, among other places (Fitzsimons, 2019).

Republicans on the contrary want to legalize workplace anti-gay discrimination in the workplace because The Civil Rights Act does not mention anything about sexuality (Garza, 2019). The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is in charge of enforces federal laws prohibiting discrimination against a job applicant or an employee during a variety of work situations including hiring, firing, promotions, training, wages and benefits (Canada). The executive branch plays the role of enforcing the law in the departments, so if the Equality Act passes the branch will play the role of implementing. This will especially go to the EEOC.

The Judicial Branch plays in this issue because there are cases concerning the discrimination in the workplace, and since there is no specific law the dispute goes to court. An agency that could be created to handle the issue would be helping the people who are fired because of the discrimination. The agency can help them find a job or appropriate housing. Not many people think what happens to a person when they are fired. Most people can not find jobs. This agency can also have programs in which they can also provide food for them.

To be able to decrease the amount of discrimination in the workplace because of sexual orientation a group of companies can advertise their commitment to respect the members of the society. The companies must acknowledge that whoever discriminated against the person is wrong. Companies must educate the importance of diversity and having the LGBTQ+ members. Discrimination can be decreased by the workplace establishing rules as to how the person should be addressed. Not only rules as to how the person should be addressed, but also having an appropriate language.

Discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community in the workplace has worsened over the past years. This has led to members of our community to be fired just because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Over the past few elections little attention has been made to this important issue. Especially in the state of Texas there are no laws that protect people based on their sexual orientation. Laws must be made to protect these important members in the state of Texas. Many perfect and equipped candidates for jobs are being fired or not even considered for the position. This can cause a great mistake in our economy because we are not giving the best option for our state. That is why Texans plead to you to make laws that protect these individuals.

The discrimination towards LGBTQ+ community in the workplace has increased, but many people are working on solving it. Currently the Supreme Court had a verdict in which they voted that the Civil Rights Act also protects transgender and sexual orientation.This means that it is now illegal to discriminate a person for their gender identity. Republicans still do not agree with this act.This however is going to take time to implement in various companies. Although citizens do not have a say in the legislative branch they can still make a change. A group of not only LGBTQ+ members can bring awareness, but also people can communicate the problem to their representatives. Another great idea would be to make flyers about the issue, and the flyers can go on the internet. That way more people are aware of the situation there is.

References

Barnes, R. (2019, October 4). Supreme Court term to begin with blockbuster question: Is it legal to fire someone for being gay or transgender? Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-term-to-begin-with-blockbuster-question-is-it-legal-to-fire-someone-for-being-gay-or-transgender/2019/10/03/b3b08a46-e15d-11e9-b199-f638bf2c340f_story.html
Burns, K. (2020, May 8). Aimee Stephens, who brought the first major trans rights case to the Supreme Court, has died. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/identities/2020/5/8/21251746/aimee-stephens-trans-supreme-court-health
California Sexul Orientation Discrimination. (2018, July 26). Retrieved from https://hunterpylelaw.com/our-practice/employee-rights/employment-discrimination/sexual-orientation-discrimination/
Canada, C. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/employment-discrimination.aspx#:~:text=Discrimination in the Workplace,, training, wages and benefits.
Fitzsimons, T. (2019, March 13). Democrats reintroduce Equality Act to ban LGBTQ discrimination. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/democrats-reintroduce-equality-act-ban-lgbtq-discrimination-n982771
Garza, A. de la. (2019, August 25). Trump Administration Approves Anti-Gay Discrimination. Retrieved from https://time.com/5660956/trump-administration-anti-gay-brief-title-vii/
Human Rights Watch Country Profiles: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. (2018, April 16). Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/video-photos/interactive/2018/04/16/sexual-orientation-gender-identity-country-profiles
Hunt, J. (2012, June). PDF.
Midwest New Media. (n.d.). Workplace Fairness. Retrieved from https://www.workplacefairness.org/sexual-orientation-discrimination#11
Pluhacek, Z., & Lincoln Journal Star. (2015, May 14). Nebraska bill to add LGBT workplace protections tabled for year. Retrieved from https://journalstar.com/legislature/nebraska-bill-to-add-lgbt-workplace-protections-tabled-for-year/article_2690f88a-f47b-5c9e-b3aa-9940deee1b7a.html
The History of Sexual Orientation Discrimination. (2018, December 13). Retrieved from https://www.workingnowandthen.com/blog/history-sexual-orientation-discrimination/
The State of LGBTQ Non-Discrimination Protections in Texas. (2018, February 7). Retrieved from https://www.freedomforallamericans.org/category/states/tx/
thisisloyal.com, L. |. (2020, April 28). How Many People are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender? Retrieved from https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/how-many-people-lgbt/