Currently, no federal or Ohio statutes specifically prohibit job discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity in the private sector (or in many parts of the public sector). However, legislative efforts are underway on local, state and federal levels to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) individuals in the workplace.

Q:       What is being done on the federal level to address LGBT workplace rights?

A:        On the federal level, a current executive order prohibits discrimination against federal government employees based solely on sexual orientation, and another executive order prohibits job discrimination by federal contractors on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. In addition, the U.S. Congress is considering the Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would protect all employees (private and public sector) from job discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Q:       What is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) position on federal laws that protect LGBT rights in the workplace?

A:        Several cases that the U.S. EEOC has decided in recent years demonstrate its position relative to LGBT rights. In 2012, the Commission ruled in Macy v. Dept. of Justice that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination against an individual on the basis of gender identity or transgender status, applied to the case.

            In 2013, the Commission ruled in Brooker v. U.S. Postal Service that lesbian, bisexual and gay individuals may experience discrimination on the basis of sex, including, but not limited to, sexual harassment, and that sex discrimination includes adverse actions (such as employment restrictions) taken because of someone’s failure to conform to sex-stereotypes.

            The Commission also takes the position that lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals have a right to file a sex discrimination complaint through the federal sector EEO complaint process.

Q:       Does any Ohio law prohibit LGBT workplace discrimination?

A:        No. There is currently no state law that addresses LGBT workplace discrimination. However, Governor Kasich signed an executive order that prohibits discrimination against state government employees on the basis of sexual orientation. This order does not, however, prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity.

Q:       What is being done at the local level to help protect LGBT employees?

A:        Within Ohio, a dozen municipalities (including most of the state’s larger cities) now prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity in private and public employment. These include the cities of Athens, Bowling Green, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Coshocton, Dayton, Newark, Oxford, Toledo and the Village of Yellow Springs.

            Also, five other Ohio municipalities currently prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity in public employment only. These include the cities of Akron, Cleveland, Heights, Gahanna, Hamilton and Oberlin.

This “Law You Can Use” article was provided by the Ohio State Bar Association. It was prepared by Susan Keating Anderson, a partner in the Education Law Practice Group of Cleveland-based Walter | Haverfield, LLP. Articles appearing in this column are intended to provide broad, general information about the law. Before applying this information to a specific legal problem, readers are urged to seek advice from an attorney.