Equality Guide

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Use this map to find out if your state offers protections against employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. While there’s no federal law against firing a person for being LGBT, 21 states and Washington, D.C., prohibit sexual orientation discrimination, while 15 of these, plus D.C., also cover gender identity.

If you unfortunately work for a hostile employer and live in a place that leaves you vulnerable to discrimination, there's still some legal recourse. Kate Kendell, executive director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, says, “Even though there’s no employment nondiscrimination law based on sexual orientation or gender identity, Title VII has been found through past cases to prohibit discrimination that is grounded in gender stereotypes, for example, a woman who is not sufficiently feminine.”

Kendell says that if you’re being discriminated against for your sexual orientation or gender identity, make sure to make a formal complaint with a human resources representative—and do it in writing. “If there’s not a satisfactory response and the harassment or discrimination continues, they can absolutely contact us or one of the other national LGBT organizations,” Kendell says. If you’ve already been terminated, write down everything you can remember about the harassment, especially the who, what, where, and when of the situation. —Neal Broverman


http://www.advocate.com/employment/