Guide to Sexual Orientation Discrimination Law

Protect your business from costly litigation by preventing sexual orientation discrimination at work

By Amy Jo Garner

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Sexual orientation discrimination includes both discrimination in hiring and pay practices and harassment in the workplace. Lesbians, gays and transgendered persons often face ridicule or threats from both co-workers and supervisors. Allowing this type of discrimination creates an unpleasant work environment for all employees and leaves you vulnerable to a lawsuit.

Although both the U.S. House and Senate are reviewing bills to make sexual orientation discrimination illegal, currently no federal law exists banning sexual discrimination. However, some states and cities have passed discrimination laws relating to sexual orientation. You can protect your business from litigation by taking the following steps:

1. Find out what the sexual orientation discrimination law is in your state.

2. Ask for help from a sexual orientation discrimination lawyer if you aren't sure if your company's employment policies are in compliance.

3. Train your managers and employees to recognize and prevent issues of sexual orientation discrimination.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Read the proposed federal legislation concerning sexual discrimination

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) seeks to prohibit employers from discriminating against employees based on sexual orientation. If you want to know what to expect in a federal sexual orientation discrimination law, read the bills currently before the House and Senate.

I recommend: ENDA currently exists in two forms which you can read online: H.R.2015 and H.R.3685.

Locate the sexual discrimination laws for your area

At least 17 states have enacted sexual orientation discrimination laws. Make sure you're in compliance by finding out the law for your state.

I recommend: Use the map provided by the ACLU to find a brief description of each state's laws. For a more extensive discussion of your state's discrimination laws, click on your state on Lambda Legal's map.

Consult a sexual orientation discrimination attorney for guidance

Sexual orientation discrimination attorneys can help you review your current policies and make sure they're in compliance with local laws.

I recommend: Got to FindLaw or Lawyers.com and click on your state to find local sexual orientation discrimination lawyers.

Provide sexual orientation discrimination training for your employees

Train your managers and employees on what constitutes sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace. Many good, inexpensive resources are available to help you.

I recommend: ELT, Inc. provides training in harassment and ethics in the workplace. You can view a free demo of their products on their website. Brightline Compliance offers a course suitable for all states and the course mandated by California state law. Demos are also available on the website.

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide