lgbt employment discrimination

Study: 4 in 10 LGBT Workers Experience On-the-Job Discrimination, Harassment

October 21, 2021 | by Nassiri Law

Nearly 40 percent of LGBT employees experienced some type of unfair treatment at some point during their careers, according to a newly-released analysis funded by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. Adverse treatment included being fired, rejected as an applicant, or harassed due to their gender identity or sexual orientation, the report showed.

It’s estimated that nearly 8 million workers in the U.S. identify as LGBT, though our Los Angeles LGBT employment discrimination lawyers opine that’s likely a low estimate. These workers are protected from employment discrimination in California under certain provisions of the Fair Housing and Employment Act (FEHA).

Nationally, LGBT workplace protections have been patchy. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County that employment non-discrimination protections should be extended to LGBT people across the country. Despite this, the survey revealed 9 percent of LGBT employees experienced some form of discrimination in the last year. About 11 percent of LGBT employees of color reported they were terminated – or never hired at all – in the last year because of their gender identity and/or sexual orientation.

The survey culled information from nearly 1,000 LGBT workers, looking at employment discrimination in the last year, last five years, and over the course of their lives. Continue Reading ›

U.S. Supreme Court Likely Divided on LGBT Employment Protections

November 20, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared sharply divided over the question of whether landmark civil rights law prohibiting gender discrimination on-the-job also extends to gay, lesbian and transgender workers.

Reuters reports the deciding vote could be Justice Neil Gorsuch, a conservative who has, on occasion, proven a swing vote.

Los Angeles LGBT employment discrimination attorneys and advocates have been following the case developments closely. The high court has never before ruled on transgender rights – employment or otherwise. In order for the case to be decided in favor of the employee plaintiffs at least one conservative justice would need to join the liberal minority.

Over two hours of oral testimony, three workers (one transgender and two gay) sought to convince justices they were entitled to the same protected status as other workers discriminated against on the basis of their biological gender – a protection expressly extended under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (That law also prohibits discrimination on the basis of color, race, religion and national origin.) Continue Reading ›

California Law Enforcement Officers Say LGBT Discrimination Rampant

February 15, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

The Los Angeles Police Department was one of the first in the nation actively hiring LGBT law enforcement officers in the late 90s. Yet a recent report by USA Today detailed the ways in which law enforcement officers in California who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender were allegedly discriminated against for their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

In one case, plaintiff, a gay black man, said his fellow officers at the state highway patrol said that not only was the harassment demeaning (tying hangers in the shape of penises around the area of his locker, lobbing homophobic slurs at him, carving his name off an award plaque), it put his life at risk. When he called for backup during tense vehicle impoundments, high-speed stolen car pursuits or investigations into hit-and-run accidents, his fellow officers wouldn’t even respond. This led to a workplace environment that was not only hostile, but dangerous. And it’s been going on for years. Even as a cadet at the state highway patrol, a fellow cadet put a gun to his head, saying he knew he was a homosexual and threatening to pull the trigger.

Plaintiff filed one complaint after another internally. Supervisors, he alleges, did nothing. So three years ago, he sued the California State Highway Patrol for LGBT workplace discrimination. He cited 20 years of discrimination and harassment. His was one in a wave of lawsuits asserting anti-gay discrimination by law enforcement agents. Many of them describe workplace environments that were abusive and hostile. Some said they were subjected cruel taunts – on top of limitations on career opportunities. Their work standards were starkly different compared to other officers. They were passed over for key promotions. They were denied protection on-the-job. All of it, our LGBT discrimination attorneys understand, came down to their sexual orientation. Continue Reading ›

Gay Teacher Sues Over Firing From Catholic High School

January 30, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

A teacher who is gay has filed an employment lawsuit against his former employer, a Roman Catholic high school, which he alleges terminated his employment because he announced his wedding to another man.

The LGBT employment discrimination lawsuit alleges the Charlotte Catholic High School in North Carolina ran afoul of federal employment law in firing him from his substitute teaching position three years ago, following his revelation of his wedding to another man in a Facebook post. The statute doesn’t reference any state law, but it does come amid a bigger fight over a law in that state that limits protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

According to the Associated Press, plaintiff taught full-time English and drama at the school for more than 10 years and even earned the “Teacher of the Year” title back in 2012. Afterward, he transitioned into a less demanding role as a regular substitute teacher, and usually worked more than 12 weeks in a year. Then, in the fall of 2014, he posted details of his upcoming wedding to another man. Several weeks later, seemingly without warning, he was informed by the school’s assistant principal that he was no longer welcome back to continue teaching. Continue Reading ›