No one expects to face discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, but when it happens many are surprised by how little protection exists. The case of Miami anchor Charlie Perez and his allegations against WPLG shows how deep employees sometimes have to dig in order to obtain some level of protection from alleged discrimination.
Perez filed a claim with Miami-Dade County’s Equal Opportunity Board because there was no protection available on the state and federal levels. Currently, only 21 states and the District of Columbia provide protection for discrimination based on sexual orientation with 13 of those states providing additional protection based on gender identity. Several more states provide protection for public employees, but not those in the private sector.
There is no protection from sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination in the workplace on the federal level. While a House committee recently held hearings on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a bill has not been sent to the floor; companion legislation in the Senate has not had a hearing. Although President Obama has pledged to sign ENDA—including protection based on gender identity—no vote is imminent.
For someone like Perez, his only option for bringing a claim of sexual orientation discrimination is to bring that claim under city and county law. While that is more than nothing, local ordinances provide limited remedies for employees who may be barred from taking a claim to trial or may have limits on damages.
Beyond legal protection, many workplaces include sexual orientation and gender identity in their non-discrimination statements. While this effort on the corporate and private level have sent a strong symbolic signal about diversity in the workplace, these policies rarely have much teeth and they provide only limited avenues when discrimination takes place. Still, these efforts are significant because they serve as the company’s value statement.
In the recent HRC Corporate Equality Index, seven media companies received a perfect score from the Human Rights Campaign for their efforts on sexual orientation and gender identity inclusion:
Clear Channel Communications Inc.
Cox Enterprises Inc.
Time Warner Inc.
Viacom Inc.
Walt Disney Co.
New York Times Co.
United Business Media LLC
By Michael Triplett
Posts
