Guide to Handling Sexual Orientation Issues in the Workplace

Obey all laws

Unfortunately, there are not yet federal laws that forbid sexual orientation discrimination; however, many states and/or legal ordinances prohibit discrimination against GLBT persons based on their orientation.

I recommend: Check out Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund for a state-by-state list of anti-discrimination laws. Check out the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Non-Discrimination Laws by state, or visit the HRC’s GLBT Workplace Issues site for information and other great resources.

Embrace diversity

Your employees need to learn more than how to “tolerate” each other’s diversity – they must be taught to embrace their co-workers as they are, regardless of sexual orientation, race, color, or religion.

I recommend: Download the HR Hero’s Guide to Diversity to learn more about creating a culture of diversity in your workplace, including ways to curb bias regarding sexual orientation, and deter discrimination, for just $97 (buy additional guides for discounted per-piece pricing). The guide includes a bonus CD, covering everything from the “talking” stage of your diversity plan, through the execution and monitoring of employees, as well as free harassment/discrimination policies. Want to find a specialist in diversity training? Check out the HRC’s List of Diversity Trainers for the Workplace. When hiring new employees, hire outside the box – list your jobs, and find new employees, at DiversityJobs.com.

Offer domestic partner health and other benefits

Offer the same benefits to those employees in same-sex partnerships as you do for those in “traditional” marriages, and treat your employer’s same-sex partner with the same comfort level and professionalism you’d treat a hetero employee’s husband or wife.

I recommend: Run, do not walk, to Common Ground, an educational/consulting firm focused on workplace diversity education on areas relative to GLBT employees. They offer full-service consulting, educational programs, awareness training, and much more. Their Domestic Partner Benefits primer includes information employers need to know, including how to find out whether their insurance company will allow domestic partner benefits, the related laws and tax codes, and more.

Treat all employees the same

Equal treatment is NOT special treatment, just as equal rights are not special rights. For example, it is unreasonable for you to expect your GLBT employees to keep their orientation a secret of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” variety (unless they want to keep it private, of course) – after all, you wouldn’t ask your straight employees not to mention their spouses or children in informal discussions.

I recommend: A longtime advocate for GLBT rights is the American Civil Liberties Union Lesbian and Gay Rights and HIV/AIDS Projects. To learn more about transgender employees, check out the ACLU’s Gender Identity and Transgender Rights.