Sexual Orientation: Discrimination in the Workplace - Essay Sample

Introduction

Sexual orientation is the identity of an individual based on the gender towards which they are attracted emotionally, sexually, and romantically. A person can be regarded as bisexual, heterosexual, or homosexual based on their sexual orientation (American Psychological Association, 2020). Sexual orientation has been an aspect prevalent as a basis of discrimination in the workplace. The related behaviors, attractions, and membership of a person within an organization determine how they are labeled and treated by their colleagues and bosses. Gay and lesbian people find serious discriminations in the workplace, depending on the culture promoted in a specific setting. In the United States, bisexual, gay, and lesbian experience discrimination in the workplace due to their sexual orientation (Ozturk, 2011). Negative attitudes towards these groups of gender identity in the workplace have resulted in the creation of laws that discourage discrimination of people in organizations based on their sexual orientation. Discrimination law based on sexual orientation has been embraced in many states, even though hostility towards lesbians and gays is common in modern American society (Workplace Fairness, 2016). Verbal harassment, abuse, inequality in wages, and violence are expressed at high rates and considered widespread towards bisexuals, gay, and lesbians in the workplace (Drydakis, 2012). The term paper will examine sexual orientation and the law discrimination in the workplace with consideration for California. An analysis of the defined problem will be provided, and solutions to address the issue and potential solutions evaluated in-depth.

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Law Discrimination in the Workplace Based on Sexual Orientation

The subject of sexual orientation is relevant to human resources as it affects employees in an organization. It impacts on the workplace relations when colleagues or employers discriminate some of the workers based on the gender relation preferences (Workplace Fairness, 2016). There is no federal law that expressly criminalizes discrimination of people in employment within the private sector. However, in the public sector workers are protected by the law from discrimination based on their sexual orientation. The law outrights that no one should be discriminated in the workplace because they are heterosexuals, bisexuals, gays, or lesbians (Ozeren, 2014). Many of the states, including California, have enacted regulations that prohibit discrimination of employees based on the sexual orientation both in the private and public sectors. However, some states focus more on the public sector when compared to the private sector when it comes to prohibiting discrimination in the workplace due to sexual orientation. There is much that organizations, people, and states can do to diminish discrimination in the workplace for lesbians, bisexuals, and gays. In an organization setting, measures such as creating and using the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, changing the beliefs systems of antigay stereotypes, and safety precautions for these groups in organizations can provide broad support to prevent discrimination in the workplace due to sexual orientation (American Psychological Association, 2020). Incorporating anti-discrimination laws within organizations must be a mandatory policy to protect against the discrimination of workers based on their sexual orientation (American Civil Liberties Union, 2016).

Statement of the Problem

Discrimination based on sexual orientation is a real problem in organizational settings (Steffens et al., 2016). Employees are subjected to negative aspects such as harassment, denial of particular employment benefits, adverse employment actions due to their sexual orientation. Sexual orientation discrimination is an issue that has been there in America for decades. The law against discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation in the workplace is diverse in the United States (U.S.). The federal and state laws have helped in improving the situation for employees discriminated based on their sexual orientation. However, many people who are bisexual, gay, pansexual, asexual, and lesbians still experience many obstacles in the workplace (Ozeren, 2014). In the U.S., the ratio of LGBT workers to the total workforce is considerable. In the year 2008, the rates were 3% and 12% respectively (Day & Greene, 2008). Many of these LGBT workers remain silent and unknown in the organization. As a minority group in the workplace, LGBTs are impacted by labor and consumer market issues (Ozeren, 2014). There are few states with well-established laws that protect LGBT employees in the workplace. Not many organizations have been able to create workplace policies that protect workers against discrimination based on sexual orientation.

All employees in an organization setting have a right to experience equal treatment from employers and colleagues, including the right to information regarding how to address the problem in the workplace. Discriminating any employee based on their sexual orientation affects their job status, working environment and relationships, and health benefits, among other challenges in the organization. Laws on discrimination of employees in the workplace are changing fast and different from one state to another. Every employee must understand what their state provides regarding laws against discrimination based on sexual orientation. The LGBT workforce has been facing many challenges in embracing their sexual orientation diversity in the workplace, including a negative impact on career progressions, and inequality in employment. There is a need for reviewing the current legislation put in place to protect sexual minorities in the workplace. These laws play a huge role in preserving the LGBTs from sexual orientation discrimination. It is ironic how these laws are not effective in eradicating the problem of sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace and especially in the California organization settings.

Analysis

Overview of The Current Legislation

The current law that governs sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 1964 (American Association of University Women, 2016). This legislation came after the Unemployment Discrimination Act 1933 was updated. The Unemployment Discrimination Act provided that all people have equal rights regardless of their skin or race. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 1964, more aspects of discrimination in the workplace were included in the legislation after the previous law did not provide adequate measures eliminating discrimination in the workplace (American Association of University Women, 2016). That included the issues of religion, race, national origin, and sex. In the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, same-sex couples were awarded the same rights as those of heterosexual partners in all aspects of marriage (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2016). However, there has been no federal law that clearly outlines the prohibition of other forms of sexual orientation discrimination, including employment, its benefits, and protections (American Psychological Association, 2020). It is not okay to assume the opinion of protection for people based on sexual orientation in the workplace. Therefore, the problem of sexual orientation in the workplace has not been protected by federal law when compared to how the aspects of race, religion, age, national origin, color, and disability are covered for private employers. Many of the states in the U.S. still lack anti-discrimination laws for protecting people from sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace.

Problems with Title VII

The possibility of adopting the legislation provided in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 1964 is limited by the afterthought that comes when considering the emerging issues of the debate in Congress. There are only nine pages presented of Title VII for discussion in the Congress. Furthermore, a solution to the problems seems to take a political strategy, and that undermines the possibility of implementing the law. Under Title VII, it becomes difficult to define sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace (Cheri, 2015). The explanation loses the translation of the issue based on how it is covered. Furthermore, clear protection of the LGBTQ community and specifically in the workplace is not provided. Based on the provisions of Title VII, it is challenging to handle gender nonconformity and offer a clear course of action (Peebles, 2015).

How the Problem of Title VII Current Legislation is Being Addressed

Many of the organizations and legislators are working to address the problems created by the current legislation. There are efforts to pass more federal to ensure discrimination in the workplace is minimized as much as possible. However, there are no Bills that have been given yet covering the issue of sexual orientation discrimination (American Psychological Association, 2020). Even though LGBTs have been allowed to marry and obtain the same benefits and protections as heterosexual couples, they can still be denied some of the services of employment. They are also at the risk of getting fired for just being married as LGBTs. Lack of legal protections for this group of employees, new laws have been introduced even though not passed in Congress. The new law is the Equality Act which covers comprehensive federal LGBTs non-discrimination regulations. The new legislation will ensure the LGBTs obtain permanent protections in many of their aspects in life, including the matters of employment, among others (Human Rights Campaign, 2020). In the new Act, LGBTs protections on issues of housing, federal funding, employment aspects, and access to public places are included.

Apart from the Equality Act, federal legislation was also passed on the 21st of July 2014 regarding gender identity fairness in the workplace. Sexual orientation was added to the protections that federal workers must be considered. Executive orders provided that workers should not face discrimination based on their sex, color, religion, national origin, and race. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 also protects many workers, including the prohibition of sexual orientation discrimination. The provisions in the Act state that it is illegal for any employee to take personnel actions to discriminate another based on conduct that does not harm employee performance.

Many unions are now putting in place collective bargaining agreements to promote anti-discrimination provisions in the policies of the organization to include sexual orientation (American Psychological Association, 2020). Such a contract is useful in providing LGBT employees with a basis for placing grievances when discriminated in the workplace based on their sexual orientation. The rules in many of the organizations today are addressing the issue of discrimination based on sexual orientation. According to the Human Rights Campaign (2020), 91% of the Fortune 500 organization prohibits sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace.

Statement from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 1964 fails to include sexual orientation in the list of protected bases explicitly. For instance, Title VII sets a conflict based on the personal feelings of discrimination, and this makes employers not able to be prosecuted on that basis. In the case of Rene vs MGM Grand Hotel Inc, the court held that sexual orientation is irrelevant for Title VII. In the case of Vickers vs Fairfield Medical, it established that harassment for befriending a homosexual man did not provide enough ev...