EEOC rules gays have employment protections under federal law

Though there's no federal law that explicitly protects workers on the basis of sexual orientation, some forms of discrimination against lesbians and gays are now covered by previously existing federal statute, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has found. Attorney James Esseks of the ACLU explains:

The advance comes from a ruling by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that employment discrimination based on sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination, which is outlawed by longstanding federal law. Back in 2012, the EEOC issued a similar ruling that discrimination based on gender identity or expression is also a form of sex discrimination that violates federal law. Both rulings are landmark advances for civil rights. Now anyone, in any part of the country, who works for an employer with 15 or more employees can file a charge of sex discrimination with the EEOC if she is discriminated against because of her sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. 

That's right, anyone who thinks they've been wronged at work based on their sexual orientation or gender identity can file a claim with their local EEOC office. This has been true for transgender Americans—who led the way on this advancement—since 2012. But last week's ruling is a major step forward since federal courts often defer to the government's interpretation of the law in this area.

This is particularly important because 28 states still lack employment protections on the basis of sexual orientation and 31 states lack them based on gender identity.