.

The specific steps depend on your situation, but these general guidelines apply to most cases.

Document Everything: Start keeping detailed records of discriminatory incidents immediately.

To understand the full scope of your rights, you should consult the anti-discrimination laws in your city and state.

When Protections May Not Apply

There are specific circumstances where anti-discrimination laws may not apply. Gathering enormous courage, Aimee told her co-workers and her boss that she was a woman. Her co-workers didn’t have a problem, but her boss fired her.  

Don Zarda was the plaintiff in another of the cases decided today, Altitude Express, Inc.

v. He thought nothing of the remark, but his boss later fired him for sharing “inappropriate information” with a customer. While preparing for a jump, Don told a female customer that he was gay in an effort to make her more comfortable with how close they were physically. Heterosexual people don’t get fired for telling people they’re straight, so Don understood this was discrimination.  

The third case was brought by Gerald Bostock, who was fired from his job as a social worker for at-risk youth after his employer learned he was gay.  

All three workers sued, asserting that it was sex discrimination to fire them for being gay or transgender. The Supreme Court agreed, holding that “An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex.

The EEOC is the agency responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee. Keep a log of dates, times, locations, and the names of any witnesses to discriminatory actions. Title VII allows religious institutions, such as churches and religious schools, to give preference in employment to individuals of a particular religion.

Federal law, affirmed by a Supreme Court decision, establishes that discrimination based on sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination. EEOC and Aimee Stephens, involved Aimee Stephens, who worked for six years as a funeral director at a funeral home in Detroit. Her boss knew her as a man, but Aimee knew since she was little that she was female. After decades of hiding who she really was, Aimee realized she had to come out to the world as her true self or she couldn’t go on living.

This makes sex a necessary factor in the termination, which Title VII prohibits.

This ruling created a federal standard, ensuring workers in every state have a legal remedy if fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Additional State and Local Government Protections

Many states, counties, and cities have their own laws that ban employment discrimination based on sexual orientation.

However, these protections only work when you understand and enforce them properly.

If you’re facing LGBT workplace discrimination or have questions about your rights, contact Nisar Law Group for a confidential consultation. Courts have interpreted this to permit these employers to make employment decisions based on religious doctrines, which may include beliefs about sexual orientation.

Another exception relates to employer size, as Title VII only applies to employers with 15 or more employees.

One exception under federal law is for certain religious organizations. This deadline is extended to 300 calendar days if a state or local agency also enforces a similar anti-discrimination law.

Missing this deadline can result in losing your right to seek a legal remedy.

After a charge is filed, the EEOC notifies the employer and begins an investigation where it may interview you, the employer, and witnesses, and review relevant documents. The Equality Act would plug those holes and protect LGBTQ people as well as all women from these kinds of discrimination.