Sexual Orientation Employment Discrimination Similar to Race and Gender Discrimination
California Chronicle
November 18, 2008

Today the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law reported that laws prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace are used as frequently by LGBT workers as laws prohibiting sex and race discrimination are used by women and people of color. Currently, twenty states and the District of Columbia prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; thirteen of those states also prohibit gender identity discrimination.

Analyzing employment discrimination complaints filed with state agencies in states prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination, the study finds 5 out of 10,000 LGBT people in the workforce file sexual orientation employment discrimination complaints each year, compared to sex discrimination complaints filed by 5 out of 10,000 women in the workforce and race discrimination complaints filed by 7 out of 10,000 people of color in the workforce.

"Our analysis directly questions the popular argument that sexual orientation anti-discrimination laws are unnecessary" noted study co-author M.V. Lee Badgett, research director at the Williams Institute, "they are needed and utilized by the LGBT workforce."

The report also addresses any worry that expanding employment discrimination to LGBT people would overwhelm state and federal agencies. Given the size of the LGB population and the filing rates of LGB people, any increase in complaint intake would be negligible.

Christopher Ramos, a researcher who also worked on the study, pointed out that in eight states sexual orientation claims surpass sex claims; the same is true for three states when compared to race claims. "Clearly, LGBT employees are not only facing a certain level of discrimination, but also, taking advantage of protective state policies."

In 2007, a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act made a historic passage through the U.S. House of Representatives, which would have established sexual orientation as a federally protected class.

Brad Sears, executive director of the Williams Institute, noted that over 3.1 million LGBT adults live in states that do not provide this protection from discrimination in the workplace. "As the debate surrounding the necessity of LGBT workplace protections begins again in Congress we must keep in mind the fragile economic position of these LGBT employees and their families."

The full report is available at http://www.law.ucla.edu/WilliamsInstitute/home.html .