Federal Employment Nondiscrimination

In June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sex in employment. As a result of this ruling, LGBTQ people across the country can continue to file complaints with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and seek recourse for discrimination in the workplace through federal courts.

Note that some states also have explicit laws against employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity, and these are included below. These state laws remain important so that LGBTQ people are protected against discrimination at every level of government, and because they are often passed alongside additional protections not yet enshrined in federal law, such as protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing and public places.  Some cities and counties also have such protections, and those are tracked here.