LGBTQ Discrimination in the Workplace
By Nathan Reineck and Anu Sharma
You see the news about another political figure passing another legislation that hinders the civil rights of the LGBTQ community. Then you walk into work only to find out you have been outed at work and are fired. This is the tragic reality for many LGBTQ individuals.
They have faced many types of discrimination in the past, however, one of the most prominent types of discrimination is present in the workplace. Last year, there were four thousand discrimination cases in Ohio, some include LGBTQ employment discrimination.
While Title VII protects against employment discrimination based on color, race, religion, national origin and sex, it doesn’t explicitly say that it protects LGBTQ individuals. This creates a vague and hostile interpretation of what is indicated as LGBTQ employment discrimination. And while there is no federal protection for individuals in the community, each state has its own legislation on the topic. For example, Ohio’s newly inaugurated Governor Mike DeWine recently signed an executive order protecting LGBTQ state employees from discrimination.
One example of a similar case would be of Ann Hopkins who worked for Price Waterhouse and was discriminated against for dressing and acting too “butch” or “masculine”, according to Regional Director Reconsideration Supervisor of the Ohio Civil Rights Commision Bradley S.S. Dunn. While she may not have been explicitly discriminated against her sexual orientation, she did experience gender discrimination, which can sometimes be used as an ambiguous LGBTQ discrimination Dunn explains. For example, Price Waterhouse impressed upon Hopkins the gender stereotypes of how feminine a woman should be physically and behave.
A local case involves Charlie Smith, a pseudonym for a KSU alum who has asked to remain anonymous, faced discrimination in the workplace and is affected by recent legislation proposed by the Supreme Court, banning trans individuals from being in the military. Smith is a closeted trans man and in ROTC, who said that in his case, there is a grandfather clause which allows him to remain in the military until further notice or the ban goes into effect.
Smith is a graduate student at Kent and has experienced discrimination in the workplace. He had a student not use his proper name nor pronouns and was harassed by said student. He said it was a frustrating and awkward situation because he felt filing a complaint would escalate the situation.
“It’s another weird situation where I don’t want to come off as someone who’s going to go file a complaint for every single little thing.” He said about how he didn’t want to be perceived as a very sensitive person.
Those who felt that they have been discriminated against in the workplace can contact their local branch of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, the OCRC for short, to either file a charge against the employer or find a different solution according to Dunn. Additionally, these individuals can also contact Equality Ohio, a non-profit advocacy group that focuses on advocating and educating on fair treatment and equal opportunity.
Policy Coordinator Marshall Troxell at Equality Ohio mentioned a prominent case involving Aimee Stephens a transgender individual who came out to her employer and was promptly fired. In this case, With the help of the ACLU, Stephens filed the complaint against the funeral home employer, on the basis of sex discrimination. Because she was suddenly fired, Stephens and her wife financially struggled with the lack of health insurance, an even scarier time for her when she developed kidney problems.
When an individual is fired due to discrimination in the workplace, it affects them not only financially, but mentally and medically. They no longer have access to payroll or insurance of any kind which is detrimental to their health. LGBTQ discrimination in the workplace also prevents these individuals from securing potential future jobs.
While Ohio may not have an explicit law that indicates that LGBTQ discrimination in the workplace is illegal, Troxell said there are 21 cities and one county in the state that offer discrimination protection. Should House Bill 160 have passed, it would have addressed this issue, however, it is in the works of being reintroduced. Additionally, Gov. Mike DeWine passing an executive order protecting state employees from this type of discrimination.
“Very soon I anticipate,” says Troxell, “we’ll know what the next version of the bill is called and it will likely be very similar to the previous version, HB160, and then we will advocate around that bill.”
Nathan Reineck: Audio story, lawsuit documents, timeline graphic, and interviewed sources.
Anu Sharma: Print portion, retrieved a headshot and graphic (that I had to modify to update the number) and interviewed sources.
