Research Guide

Employment Discrimination:
Experiences of LGBT People &
Workplace Protections

 Jump Start
1. Research Tab: Click Workplace under the Research Tab on our home page, or access directly
here: Workplace Research.
2. United States: If youre looking at LGBT discrimination and protections in the United States, we
suggest you start with the article Evidence of Persistent and Pervasive Workplace Discrimination
against LGBT People.
3. State or Local: If youre focused on a city or a state, click on the relevant state on the U.S. State
Resource Map.
4. Global: We do have some resources on discrimination in other countries, including: Impact of
Homophobia on GDP; Global Public Opinion Comparison (2014); Global Public Opinion Comparison
(2011); Hong Kong; Nepal; Montenegro.

4 Things You Dont Want To Miss (and why you should read to the bottom)
1. There are some forms of protection in all 50 states, though in many states the protections are
limited There is no federal law prohibiting sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination
explicitly, and 28 states lack such laws, but federal employees, state and local government
employees, employees of federal contractors, and some private employees have at least some
limited forms of protection in all 50 states.
2. Gender and Gender Stereotyping Part of those protections are through laws, such as Title VII
of the federal Civil Rights Act, that prohibit sex discrimination. These laws have been applied to
protect transgender people in all circumstances and LGB people where the discrimination rests on
gender stereotypes (and sometimes even more broadly).
3. Businesses Charge Ahead In many areas, corporate America has charged ahead of government
laws. So some employees might be protected by corporate policies (though the ability to enforce
such policies is unclear), and the business case for diversity is an important area of research.
4. Religious Exemptions A current topic in this area is the attempt to pass new laws or revise
existing laws to provide exemptions from non-discrimination protections based on sexual
orientation and gender identity to allow institutions and individuals to object, on religious grounds,
to a variety of interactions with women, LGBT people, and same-sex couples.

Getting Oriented
The following concepts are useful in thinking about the current patchwork of protections for LGBT
people in the United States and their experiences in the workplace:
1. Explicit protections? Employment discrimination protections can be:
i. LGBT specific: explicitly prohibit sexual orientation and gender identity or expression
discrimination;
ii. Gender: part of existing prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of gender and gender
stereotypes; or
iii. General: part of broader mandates against discrimination unrelated to workplace performance.
2. From laws to workplace environment: There are a number of different types of laws, policies, and
practices relevant to LGBT employees:
i. Discrimination protections These prohibit discrimination in the workplace and provide
remedies for those facing discrimination.
ii. Employee benefits including spousal and domestic partner benefits that extend to same-sex
couples and transition-related benefits for transgender employees.
iii. Data Collection Many employers collect data on whether their employees are LGBT in order to
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measure diversity, promotion, training, job satisfaction, etc.

iv. Employee Resources Groups (ERGs), liaisons, etc. These groups and people help ensure a
positive environment for LGBT employees.
v. Posting non-discrimination requirements Companies often communicate legal requirements
to employees by posting non-discrimination rules in the workplace. Federal contractors are
legally required to post notice of LGBT workplace non-discrimination rules.
vi. Affirmative steps Many companies move beyond prohibiting discrimination to creating a
positive environment for LGBT employees through trainings to prevent discrimination and
harassment, outreach to the LGBT community when hiring, and publicly supporting LGBT
organizations and issues.

3. Public or private? Employment protections can cover public (government) employees, private
employees, or employees of private employers that are government contractors or receive
government grants. Protections for private employees and employees of government contractors
will often be limited to employers of a certain size.
4. Constitutions, laws, ordinances, and orders: Employment protections can be created by
interpretation of the federal and state constitutions, legislative bodies (local councils, state
legislatures, Congress,) or by executives (e.g. state governor or U.S. President).
5. Local, federal, state? Employment protections can be local, state, or federal. The level of
enforcement and available remedies, such as reinstatement and back pay, are usually greater
under state and federal protections than under local protections.
6. The Enforcers: Enforcement can come from federal, state, and local administrative agencies, like the
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (the federal office that enforces executive orders
pertaining to federal contractors) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the federal
agency that enforces Title VII); state or federal courts; and employers human resources departments.

Legal Research
1. Legal Overview: This article provides a comprehensive overview of legal protections as of 2012:
Evidence of Persistent and Pervasive Workplace Discrimination against LGBT People.
2. Local Ordinances: Here are some resources on local ordinances that prohibit sexual orientation
and gender discrimination: Local Laws Requiring Government Contractors to Non-Discrimination
Policies, Documenting Discrimination (see Chapter 11), Local Laws Prohibiting Gender Identity
Discrimination in New York.
3. State Laws: Here are summaries of state laws that prohibit sexual orientation and gender identity
discrimination (as of 2009): Documenting Discrimination (see Chapter 15). State-level research
reports on employment discrimination can be found on this list: Non-Discrimination Reports, by
State.
4. Executive Orders: Here is a summary of relevant executive orders by state governors (as of 2009):
Documenting Discrimination (see Chapter 15).
5. Federal Protections: There is no federal law that explicitly prohibits sexual orientation and gender
identity discrimination by private employers, although Congress has considered such legislation in
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almost every session over the past four decades. In addition, keep in mind that at the federal level:
i. Such discrimination is prohibited against federal government employees. See Executive Order
13087, Executive Order 13672 (amending Executive Order 11478).
ii. Such discrimination is prohibited against employees of federal contractors. See Office of
Federal Contract Compliance, Final Rule & Technical Assistance.
iii. The EEOC and many courts interpret such discrimination to violate Title VIIs prohibition against
sex discrimination. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, What You Should Know about
EEOC and the Enforcement Protections for LGBT Workers.

Empirical Research
The Williams Institute and others have approached empirical research on employment discrimination
in a number of ways. This research is ongoing. It is helpful to think of the research as addressing the
following 6 questions:
1. What is the size of the LGBT workforce? Approximately 4% of the U.S. workforce identifies as
LGBT. See Evidence of Persistent and Pervasive Workplace Discrimination against LGBT People.
2. How prevalent is discrimination against LGBT people?
i. Surveys: A number of probability and non-probability surveys have collected data on
employment discrimination against LGB people. Some of these surveys also included
transgender people. A summary of this survey data can be found in Documented Evidence of
Employment Discrimination & Its Effects on LGBT People and Documenting Discrimination
(see Chapter 9). A few surveys have also collected data on discrimination against transgender
people separately. The largest survey of transgender people conducted to date is the National
Transgender Discrimination Survey.
ii. Wage gap studies: Wage gap studies compare income between LGB and non-LGB people. If,
after controlling for factors significant for determining wages such as education, a wage gap
exists between the groups, economists typically conclude that the most likely reason for the
wage gap is discrimination. Wage gap studies are summarized in Evidence of Persistent and
Pervasive Workplace Discrimination against LGBT People. While there are no wage gap studies
focused on transgender individuals, data from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey
show that transgender people earn less than non-transgender people and are more likely to be
unemployed.
iii. Court cases and administrative complaints: Discrimination is also documented in court cases
and administrative complaints. The Williams Institute has gathered nearly 400 such examples
of employment discrimination against LGBT public workers. The examples can be found in
Documenting Discrimination (see Chapter 9). State-level reports also include examples of
discrimination from these sources. These reports are available at Non-Discrimination Reports, by
State.
iv. Findings by Courts & Legal Scholars: A number of courts and legal scholars have documented
the history and patterns of discrimination against LGBT people in judicial opinions and law
review articles. A summary of such findings can be found in Evidence of Persistent and
Pervasive Workplace Discrimination against LGBT People.
v. Findings by Federal, State & Local Governments: The federal government, as well as many
state and local governments, have concluded that LGBT people have faced widespread
discrimination in employment. A summary of such findings can be found in Evidence of
Persistent and Pervasive Workplace Discrimination against LGBT People.
vi. Controlled Experiments: In controlled experiments, researchers create scenarios that allow
comparisons of the treatment of LGB people with treatment of non-LGB people. Controlled
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experiments have found evidence of sexual orientation discrimination. Controlled experiment studies
are reviewed in Evidence of Persistent and Pervasive Workplace Discrimination against LGBT People.
3. How does this discrimination impact LGBT people, including their incomes and physical and
mental health?
i. Wage gap studies: Discrimination can result in lower wages for LGBT people. See section 2.ii.
above for a description of wage gap studies.
ii. Health and well-being studies: The minority stress model suggests that prejudice, stigma,
and discrimination create a social environment characterized by excessive exposure to stress,
which, in turn, results in health disparities for sexual minorities compared with heterosexuals.
Research on minority stress is summarized in Evidence of Persistent and Pervasive Workplace
Discrimination against LGBT People.
4. Does public opinion support workplace protections for LGBT people? Public opinion in every state
indicates support for workplace protections for LGBT. State-level public opinion data on support for
a federal law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is presented
in Evolving Public Opinion on ENDA and in A Majority of the Public Supports ENDA.
5. Are laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity
enforced? Are they effective?

i. Complaint rate studies: The Williams Institute has analyzed the rate at which complaints
of sexual orientation discrimination are filed by LGB people, compared to the rate at which
complaints of sex discrimination are filed by women and complaints of race discrimination are
filed by people of color. Complaint rates for workers in all sectors are analyzed in Evidence of
Employment Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: Complaints
Filed with State Enforcement Agencies 1999-2007. Complaint rates for LGB public employees
(state and local government) compared to private employees are analyzed in Evidence of
Employment Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation in State and Local Government.
ii. Evaluations of non-discrimination and equal benefits ordinances: The Williams Institute
surveyed nearly 70 localities with local ordinances that prohibit government contractors from
discriminating against their employees based on sexual orientation or gender identity or
required contractors to offer equal benefits to same-sex partners of their employees.
The localities responses are analyzed in An Evaluation of Local Laws Requiring Government
Contractors to Adopt LGBT-Related Workplace Policies.

6. What is the economic impact of sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination, or
protections prohibiting such discrimination, on LGBT people, businesses, and state and local
economies and governments?
i. Impact of LGBT-related workplace policies on businesses and LGBT employees: Research
shows that LGBT-supportive policies and workplace environments have positive impacts on
LGBT people and businesses. A review of this research can be found in The Business Impact
of LGBT-Supportive Workplace Policies. The Williams Institute has also found that many
employers adopt corporate non-discrimination policies for economic reasons, such as to recruit
and retain the best talent, to boost employee productivity, and to attract a broader, more diverse
customer base. This research can be found in Economic Motives for Adopting LGBT-Related
Workplace Policies.
ii. Impact of enforcing non-discrimination laws on governments: Williams Institute studies
have found that sexual orientation and gender identity non-discrimination laws are not costly
or burdensome for state governments to enforce. State-level reports can be found at Non5

Discrimination Reports, by State. Williams Institute research has also found that local-level
laws requiring government contractors to adopt non-discrimination policies or offer equal
benefits are also not costly or burdensome for governments to enforce. This research can
be found in An Evaluation of Local Laws Requiring Government Contractors to Adopt LGBTRelated Workplace Policies.
iii. Impact of discrimination on governments: Several Williams Institute studies have estimated
the impact of discrimination against transgender people on state budgets. These studies
have found that gender identity discrimination can result in reduced income tax revenues
and increased state expenditures for public assistance benefits. These studies can be found at
Non-Discrimination Reports, by State.

Further Reading on Specific Topics

In addition to the general research described above, you might be interested in the following more
focused topics and reports:
1. Public Employees (state and local government):
Documenting Discrimination (see all Chapters and 50-State Appendicies)
Evidence of Employment Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation in State
and Local Government
2. Armed Forces:
Still Serving in Silence: Service Members and Veterans in the National Transgender
Discrimination Survey
3. Law Enforcement:
Discrimination against Law Enforcement Officers on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and
Gender Identity: 2000 to 2013
4. Federal Contractors and Executive Order:
An Executive Order to Prevent Discrimination against LGBT Workers
Impact of Extending Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Requirements
to Federal Contractors
5. Transgender People:
Costs and Benefits of Providing Transition-related Health Care Coverage in Employee Health
Benefits Plans: Findings from a Survey of Employers
Local Laws and Government Policies Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Gender Identity in
New York
The Cost of Employment and Housing Discrimination against Transgender Residents of New York
The Cost of Employment Discrimination against Transgender Residents of Massachusetts
Local Laws and Government Policies Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Gender Identity
in Maryland
6. Entertainment industry including casting:
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Diversity in Entertainment: Experiences and
Perspectives of SAG-AFTRA Members
7. Domestic partner and spousal employee benefits:
An Evaluation of Local Laws Requiring Government Contractors to Offer Equal Benefits to
Domestic Partners
The Impact of Inequalities for Same-Sex Partners in Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans
Unequal Taxes on Equal Benefits: The Taxation of Domestic Partner Benefits
The Effect of Marriage Equality and Domestic Partnership on Business and the Economy
Separate and Unequal: The Effect of Unequal Access to Employment-Based Health
Insurance on Same-Sex and Different-Sex Unmarried Couples
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