Legislation prohibiting the discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people in the workplace was approved by the U.S. Senate in November. The Employee Non-Discrimination Act has been before Congress many times since it was first created in 1994 but it wasn’t until now that Congress has acted on it. With a vote of 64-32, Senate approved the legislation. The bill is now before the House or Representatives, where it’s expect to fail.
So far, 21 states have protection in place for LGBT workers. A UCLA report states that 4 percent of the U.S. workforce consists of LGBT people. According to the study, the percentage of LGBT employees who have been subject to discrimination in the workplace in such areas as pay, promotion or being hired, is at 21 percent. The report goes on to state that 47 percent of transgender employees have experienced some type of discrimination, and one out of every 25 complaints of discrimination within the workplace is from employees who are LGBT.
Since there is no federal law that protects them, many in the LGBT community claim to be subject to discrimination, harassment or unfair treatment at their jobs. Workplace discrimination is a serious issue that is illegal in many circumstances.
It is against the law to discriminate employees in matters that involve promotion, hiring, compensation, firing, retirement plans and benefits. If you believe you have been treated wrongly or harassed in the workplace you may be a victim of discrimination. An attorney can better explain the rules and regulations against discrimination and provide the information you need to know about these sensitive issues.
Source: Los Angeles Times, “A rundown of LGBT workplace discrimination statistics“, Ricardo Lopez, November 21, 2013