LGBTQ workers now have clear federal protection against workplace discrimination. Understanding how Title VII protects sexual orientation and gender identity helps you recognize discrimination and assert your rights.

Federal Protection Under Title VII

In Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), the Supreme Court held that Title VII's prohibition on sex discrimination includes sexual orientation and gender identity. Employers cannot fire, refuse to hire, or otherwise discriminate against employees because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.

This ruling applies to all employers with 15 or more employees.

What Is Protected

Title VII now protects employees from discrimination based on: sexual orientation (gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual), gender identity (transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming), and sex stereotypes (not conforming to expectations of how men or women should act or appear).

Types of LGBTQ Discrimination

Discrimination takes various forms:

Disparate treatment: Treating LGBTQ employees worse than others—firing, denying promotions, or refusing to hire.

Harassment: Offensive comments, jokes, or conduct creating a hostile work environment based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Bathroom and facility access: Denying transgender employees access to facilities consistent with their gender identity.

Dress code violations: Enforcing dress codes based on assigned sex rather than gender identity.

Misgendering: Deliberately using incorrect pronouns or names.

Hostile Work Environment

Harassment creating a hostile work environment is unlawful. This includes anti-LGBTQ slurs and insults, offensive jokes or comments, exclusion or ostracism, threatening behavior, and displaying offensive materials.

Employers must address harassment when they know or should know about it.

Transgender-Specific Issues

Transgender employees face particular challenges. Employers may not refuse to use correct names and pronouns, require employees to use facilities inconsistent with gender identity, penalize employees for transitioning, apply different dress codes based on assigned sex, or disclose transgender status without consent.

Religious Exemptions

Some employers claim religious exemptions from LGBTQ protections. Religious organizations may have limited exemptions under Title VII. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) may provide defenses in some contexts. This area of law remains contested—religious exemptions are narrower than some employers claim.

State and Local Protections

Many states and cities have their own LGBTQ protections—some enacted before Bostock. These laws may cover smaller employers, provide additional remedies, or offer broader protections. Check your state and local laws.

Proving LGBTQ Discrimination

To establish a discrimination claim: document your LGBTQ status was known to the employer, show you suffered an adverse employment action, present evidence connecting the action to your LGBTQ status, and challenge any pretextual reasons offered by the employer.

Evidence includes discriminatory comments, timing of adverse actions, different treatment compared to straight or cisgender employees, and pattern evidence.

Documenting Harassment

Build your case with documentation: keep notes of discriminatory comments with dates, witnesses, and context; save emails or messages; report harassment through official channels; keep copies of your complaints and employer responses; and note any witnesses.

Retaliation Protection

Employers cannot retaliate against employees who report LGBTQ discrimination, file complaints, or participate in investigations. Retaliation creates separate legal claims.

Filing Claims

LGBTQ discrimination claims under Title VII require EEOC filing within 180-300 days. State and local claims may have different procedures and deadlines.

Remedies

Successful claims can recover: back pay and front pay, compensatory damages for emotional distress, punitive damages for willful discrimination, reinstatement or promotion, policy changes, and attorney fees.

Getting Legal Help

LGBTQ discrimination cases require attorneys familiar with evolving law in this area. An employment attorney can evaluate your case, navigate the interaction of federal, state, and local laws, and pursue maximum recovery.