At least 11 lawsuits concerning anti-LGBT+ workplace discrimination have been filed by LGBT+ officers against US law enforcement departments since 2016. The lawsuits detail pervasive abuse and cruel behavior towards LGBT+ identified officers, which took a serious toll on their mental health and repeatedly put them in danger. The officers in the disparate cases allege that their repeated complaints garnered little sympathy and no concrete action.
There is a long history of homophobia in the police force and as laws have been adopted to protect against identity-based workplace discrimination, more officers have come forward to bring suit.
Greg Nevins, senior counsel for Lambda Legal, says that law enforcement officers have legal grounds to sue for anti-LGBT+ discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, especially in claims of irrational sexual-orientation discrimination
Read more at USA Today.