The US Commission on Civil Rights has issued an extensive report, “Working for Inclusion,” documenting the discrimination LGBT+ people face at work and calling for Congress to pass a law making it illegal.
“LGBT individuals often face lower wages, increased difficulty in finding jobs, promotion denials, and/or job terminations due to their sexual orientation or gender identity,” the report says. “Studies have found that anywhere from 21 to 47 percent of LGBT adults faced employment discrimination because they were gay or transgender.”
Twenty states and the District of Columbia currently have laws against LGBT+ employment discrimination. Federal courts have also recently warmed to the argument that discrimination against LGBT+ people is prohibited sex discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
With Republicans in control of both houses of Congress, any action on the Equality Act, which would amend the Civil Rights Act to include comprehensive protections for LGBT+ people, is unlikely in the short term.