Dive Brief:
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Now that same-sex marriage is the law of the land, one of the the next frontiers is equal treatment under the law in the workplace.
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According to an article in the LA Times, gay rights advocates were already preparing for the next great battle: the expansion of federal civil rights laws to make sexual orientation a protected class in the workplace and elsewhere.
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The Times reports that only 22 states and the District of Columbia have laws against employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, leaving millions without a clear right to keep their jobs. Current federal civil rights laws do not explicitly ban such discrimination.
Dive Insight:
Despite there being no federal law prohibiting discrimination for sexual orientation in employment, if you combine some 200 local anti-discrimination ordinances with existing federal regulations and rules (federal employees are protected; federal contractors can't discriminate), about half of all LGBT workers in the U.S. are believed to be legally protected against employment discrimination, though firm numbers are not available, says the Times. Included in that estimate is the fact that nearly 90% of Fortune 500 publicly traded companies voluntarily prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
Some fear a payback aimed at LGBT job candidates or current employees, however. Much of it depends on the company culture and leadership philosophy.
“The problem is, if gay marriage comes and gay couples go to get married, a number of them will get fired from their jobs for that,” Bryan Gatewood, an LGBT rights lawyer in Louisville, told the Times. He said a Supreme Court victory may even trigger a backlash from conservatives in some states and cities. “You are going to stir all these people up when [LGBT people] get married, so you’re going to get more discrimination."
