The Rights Opportunity Commission Has Filed Suits Against Private And Public Practices

Although, an employee’s sexual orientation/identity isn’t a visible characteristic, it should be considered an important of diversity management. Bower and Blackmon (2003) states that managing diversity, particularly when it comes to sexual orientation diversity, may be just as significant as managing visible diversity (as cited in Ozeren, 2014, p. 1203). Research of those who identify as LGB (not T), indicates that they’re a sizeable population. Gates (2015) states that “it is generally thought that between 8.2 to 8.7 million United States citizens identity as LGB citizens (transgender number are less well-known), or between 3.5 to 3.7 percent of the population” (as cited in Shrader, 2016, p. 181). For my term paper, I will explore the following questions: How is the U.S. currently responding to complaints filled by LGBT employees? What is the government doing to improve policies, laws, initiatives or statutes to protect this population? I will answer these question by performing

Twenty states in the U.S currently have laws prohibiting the discrimination based on sexual orientation in public, as well as private jobs. These states include Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Main, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington Wisconsin and California. As found by California lawyers, the number of cases filed with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, or DFEH, pertaining to employment discrimination based on sexual orientation has “increased from 636 in 2001, to 714 in 2005 and to 821 in 2008. In 2011, the number of sexual orientation employment discrimination cases filed with DFEH spiked to 1,104.” This drastic increase may be attributed to the advocacy of equality in marriage laws in California and in other

Crosby Burns wrote “The Gay and Transgender Wage Gap” for Americanprogress.org, and the view of the article is clear from the beginning. “Unfortunately, many gay and transgender workers receive unequal pay for equal work in the United States today”

Although these people are very qualified and have the experience, they are being turned away because of their sexual orientation. The part where most struggle is that legally there isn’t a federal law that protects individuals from “Employment Discrimination”(HRC, 2015). Out of the 50 states in our country, 32 of them don’t have laws based on gender identity and 28 don’t have laws based on gender discrimination (HRC, 2015). This makes it even harder for people who are bisexual, gay, transgender, and lesbian to get the jobs that they qualify for. Overall, the support for equal employment opportunities has increased from 1977 to 2008 in the United States. According to the Gallup polls, in 1977 there were 56% in support of equal employment opportunities. That number continued to rise to 74% by 1992 and all the way up to 89% in 2008 (Herek, 2002). In the field of education, the support for homosexuals has drastically increased over the years from 27% in 1977, 41% in 1992, and 54% in 2005. We have a serious need for teachers and at this rate by 2020 the numbers will increase all the way up to the 90

For 29 States in the US, it is legal to fire an employee for being gay, lesbian or bisexual. 38 States in the Union have no laws on record preventing discrimination against gender identity or expression—commonly known as transgender. While these statistics may be disheartening for many gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) individuals, it is not all doom and gloom. Employment protections and rights for GLBTs have grown exponentially in the past two decades.

According to an article published by Workplace Fairness, a non-profit organization that provides information and education on employee rights, sexual orientation discrimination means treating someone differently solely because of his or her sexual orientation whether it be homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual. This discrimination may occur because of a perception of someone whether the perception is right or wrong. Someone who is discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation may also be discriminated against or harassed on the basis of sex, gender identity, disability, such as actual or perceived HIV status, and/or marital status.

The struggle for equality has been intense, and still continues to this day. With this being said, much progress has been made in establishing respect and external acceptance for all individuals sense of identity. For example, in 2015 the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Same Sex Marriages, marking a pivotal point in the civil rights movement for the LGBTQ community. For many, this act helped to support their sense of self, a right that been denied for so long. The United States effectively validated the LGBTQ community, giving this group all rights granted to all other citizen’s, However, the creation and acceptance of this community has not had positive benefits for all members. The Gender Binary has been changed, but many distinctions

Since I live in California, I selected the state California to conduct research on active laws that prohibit sexual orientation discrimination. The State of California has included sexual orientation as protected class along with race, sex, gender, religion, color and national origin (Shegerian & Associates, 2013). The California Government Code § 12920, 12940 and 12949 offers protection against job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (Holt, 2015). In the State of California, the Department of Fair Housing enforces the law on sexual orientation discrimination and the Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity (Shegerian & Associates, 2013). Sexual

According to Jennifer C. Pizer, Legal Director and Amold D. Kassoy Senior Scholar of Law, more than 8 million people who are gay and lesbians are in the workforce and have experiences discriminations (719). Pizer informs us that in 2008 about 37% of gay and lesbians experience harassments at work like rude comments and 12% had lost their jobs because of their sexual preference (721). In 2011 47% of gay and lesbians were discriminated in job hiring’s, job promotions, and job retentions (Pizer 721). Pizer conceives an over view that about 8-17% of homosexuals have been fired from employment, 10-28% were denied in promotion or given a negative comments, 7-41% them where physical abused or had been harassed, and 10-19% of them had unfair benefits (725). Pizer also tells us that gay and lesbian, “Employees face as a result of the denial of equal benefits to employees with a same-sex spouse or partner” (760). About 60% of gay and lesbians report not having anything health insurance as well as equal treatment as a heterosexual couple (Pizer 765). In a few words, Title VII bans all sex discrimination but yet Title VII is getting overlooked (Pizer 716). So because of this discrimination happens, and homosexuals are more likely to have health issues and to be treated with no respect in the workforce. Now that we have taken a look on

The subject of expanding LGBT civil rights is complicated and controversial in today’s society. Larkin (2016) stated that laws that prohibit discrimination based on sex do not protect those who identify as LGBT. Title VII does not address sexual orientation as a protected right. Plaintiffs who have experienced discrimination must argue their discrimination was due to gender identify and social norms (Larkin, 2016). Since there is no straightforward enforcement of LGBT nondiscrimination laws this group receives the highest amount of discrimination. However, social acceptances of the LGBT lifestyles are rapidly progressing. With this newly found social acceptance and the increase in population growth, workplace discrimination laws will need adjusted so that this population becomes a protected

“Approximately 9 million Americans identify themselves as being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). With alternate sexual orientation. Managers and employees are becoming more tolerant and there is a growing respect for individuals with non-traditional sexual orientation” (Mathis, Jackson, & Valentine, 2014, p. 3-4d).

The issues of diversity such as inequality or discrimination in the workplace has changed over the years. As of a result of years of individual in society protesting against the wage disparity that existed among men and women, the Equal Pay Act was enacted in 1963. However, we have not been able to close the gap entirely, but some progress has been made. Another example of how diversity has affected society, was the first step in having gays in the military, by implementing the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, under the Bill Clinton administration, which stopped the military from asking if someone was gay. Then that all changed for the better, once President Obama, took office and allowed anyone from the LGBT community to serve 2014, without having to

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has the power to examine charges of discrimination against companies who are protected by the law. The majority of companies with the minimum of 15 employees are covered by the EEOC laws. The laws pertain to all forms of work scenarios; hiring, terminating, wages, training, etc. (EEOC, n.d.).

The criminal just system should view all people no matter what their race, gender, or social class is. In a world where Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people are being slandered, it is hard for them to get jobs because of their sexual preferences or how they identify. Gays and lesbians who choose to come out around “straight” people they work with will probably face at least some (if not much) discrimination. During work, “discrimination based on sexual orientation must not be tolerated in any form in modern law enforcement. Instead of prejudice and intolerance, police departments and chief executives should embrace a “Do Ask, Do Tell” attitude toward gays and lesbians (Winchell, 2008)”. They will go out of their way to cause harm either (physically/ mentally), professional humiliation, and the refusal of some heterosexual officers to work in close proximity with the LGBT officers. Instead of discriminating on others, officers should begin to judge based on the quality of their work and strength of character.

The workplace has an environment where people having different communication styles, personalities and views come to interact. These differences play a significant role in sourcing these workplace issues. These factors can ultimately lead to tension and stress at workplace for people who are involved. Even though, all colleagues have all the rights for fair treatment and they should feel safe in their workplace, some employees are bullied harassed or discriminated. Specifically, people, who belong to LGBT community, are unsafe in their workplaces by non-discriminatory policies. Moreover, few of the employees might feel dissatisfied with their performance and these people have to struggle in order to perform at their workplace. These people also face the difficulty in finding a suitable job that matches their abilities and interests (Hershcovis 499–519)