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Nondiscrimination Laws

Many LGBTQ people experience discrimination when going about their daily activities–whether eating at a restaurant with their families, trying to obtain safe, clean housing, or applying for a loan. Most people are surprised to learn that federal laws do not explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, and more. It is crucial that federal, state, and local nondiscrimination laws are updated to ensure that LGBTQ people can participate fully in society and provide for themselves and their families. 

The following resources examine the landscape of nondiscrimination laws across the United States, the importance of these protections, and how best to have conversations about the importance of nondiscrimination for all people.

Related Resources

New Report: How Opponents Are Enshrining Inequality and Expediting Discrimination Against LGBTQ People

MEDIA CONTACT: Rebecca Farmer, Movement Advancement Project rebecca@mapresearch.org | 303-578-4600 ext 122 August 10, 2023 Today the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) released the fourth report in its series, Under Fire: The War on LGBTQ People in America. The latest report, “Enshrining Inequality for LGBTQ People,” pinpoints the ways that opponents

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Why LGBT Elders Need the Equality Act

July 2021 – This issue brief details how LGBT older people would benefit from passage of the Equality Act, which would update federal civil rights law to explicitly protect people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender

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Uplift LGBT Carework in the American Jobs Plan

May 2021 – The American Jobs Plan creates a unique opportunity to provide vital services and protections for LGBT older people–two populations that too often feel invisible. This info sheet discusses how we can best support LGBT elders through the

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Why We All Need the Equality Act Now

In 2021, Congress has the opportunity to recommit our country and our elected officials in securing fairness and equality for all by passing the Equality Act. Why We All Need the Equality Act Now outlines the ways in which the Equality Act is vital legislation not just for LGBTQ people,

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Week #1: 10 Ways President Biden Can Support LGBTQ People

This brief highlights 10 actions the Biden administration can immediately start to ensure LGBTQ people and their families can be protected from discrimination.

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The High Stakes in the Fulton Case

The outcome of Fulton vs. City of Philadelphia, heard by the Supreme Court on November 4, 2020, could dramatically reshape how LGBTQ people and same-sex couples, women, people of faith, unmarried couples, and others access taxpayer-funded supports such as job

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The High Stakes in the Fulton Case: Undermining the Vital Role of Child Welfare Laws & Regulations in Protecting America’s Children

This fall, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, a case related to taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies. If the Court rules that Catholic Social Services (CSS) can refuse to comply with the City of Philadelphia’s nondiscrimination requirement and reject qualified parents simply because

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What’s at Stake? Analyzing a 2019 HHS Proposed Rule Allowing Discrimination

December 2019 This brief analyzes a new proposed rule allowing discrimination in HHS-funded programs and services.  

Brief
Can LGBT People Be Legally Fired? U.S. Supreme Court Considers Three Cases That Could Take America Backward

In October 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in three cases that could determine whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people will continue to have protections under federal nondiscrimination law, or whether it would be legal

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Title IX, Religious Exemptions & Campus Climate: LGBT Protections in Higher Education
This brief shows how the expansion of the ability of colleges and universities to claim a religious exemption to federal nondiscrimination laws can have a profoundly negative impact on LGBTQ students.
Brief
Are LGBT Workers Protected From Discrimination? Unravelling the Patchwork of Federal, State, and Local Employment Protections

The Bottom Line A new brief from MAP, the ACLU and Lambda Legal, Are LGBT Workers Protected from Discrimination? Unravelling the Patchwork of Federal, State, and Local Employment Protections, examines the existing federal, state and local laws and court rulings

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Transgender Youth in Schools

September 2018 – Released as part of the new Safe Schools Movement, this new infographic brief from MAP, GLSEN and NCTE highlights the experience of transgender students in school and the laws and policies still needed to ensure transgender students

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Kids Pay the Price: How Discriminatory Adoption and Foster Care Laws Harm Children

September 2018 – This policy brief, authored by MAP and the Family Equality Council, in partnership with the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), offers a snapshot of the impact of discriminatory

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Top Corporations, Civil Rights Advocates and 1,200+ Businesses Join Open to All!

Yelp, Levi Strauss & Co., Airbnb, Lyft, Thumbtack, New York, Oakland, And More Than 1,200 Small Businesses Expand ‘Open to All’ Coalition, Encouraging Businesses to Affirm America’s Commitment to Serving Everyone on the Same Terms Washington, D.C., July 31, 2018 — Today, some of the nation’s largest businesses including Yelp,

Press Release
2018 Federal Child Welfare Amendment

The Bottom Line In July 2018, a committee passed the so-called Aderholt Amendment to an appropriations bill that creates a federal license to discriminate for child welfare providers. As detailed in a brief released by MAP, Lambda Legal, and the Every Child Deserves a Family coalition, if passed, this bill

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Putting Children at Risk: How Efforts to Undermine Marriage Equality Harm Children

The Bottom Line Putting Children at Risk: How Efforts to Undermine Marriage Equality Harm Children shows how these coordinated efforts pose a profound threat to the children in LGBT families. First, some government officials, state legislators, and courts have refused to fully recognize the marriages of same-sex couples and their

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The Power of State Preemption: Preventing Progress and Threatening Equality

The Bottom Line Across the country, cities and counties are taking steps to promote progress and to protect their residents on a range of issues, including workers’ rights and benefits, the minimum wage, nondiscrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, pro-immigrant policies, environmental efforts, and more. However,

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Religious Refusals in Health Care: A Prescription for Disaster

The Bottom Line Freedom of religion is an important American value, which is why it is already protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. That freedom doesn’t give people the right to impose their beliefs on others or to discriminate. In January 2018, the Trump Administration’s announcement of a

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50 Years Ago vs. Today: Piggie Park & the High Stakes of the Masterpiece Cakeshop Case

The Bottom Line Fifty years ago, in March 1968, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in Newman v. Piggie Park Enterprises. Piggie Park, a small barbeque chain that is still open today, refused to serve African American customers.

Brief
Creating a License to Discriminate: First Amendment Defense Act

The Bottom Line The freedom of religion is one of our nation’s most fundamental values, which is why it is already protected in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Americans also believe in equal treatment, and while religious freedom

Brief
“Funeral Home”: The High Stakes of the Masterpiece Cakeshop Case

February 2018 -Released in February 2018, a new public education ad, Funeral Home, produced by MAP, depicts a devastating scenario in which a grieving widow and her family are turned away from a funeral home and refused burial services for

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LGBT Policy Spotlight: Public Accommodations Nondiscrimination Laws

The Bottom Line This report LGBT Policy Spotlight: Public Accommodations Nondiscrimination Laws a provides a comprehensive overview of the patchwork of federal, state, and local protections against discrimination in public spaces. As the Supreme Court prepares to issue a ruling in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, public places

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Issue Brief: The Broader Dangers of the Masterpiece Cakeshop Case

The Bottom Line In December 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider the landmark case Masterpiece Cakeshop vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. This issue brief provides an analysis of the legal questions in the case, and the broad legal implications

Brief
Kids Pay the Price: How Religious Exemptions for Child Welfare Services Harm Children

The Bottom Line Freedom of religion is an important American value, which is why it is already protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. That freedom doesn’t give people the right to impose their beliefs on others or to discriminate. Yet a growing number of states, and the federal

Report
License to Discriminate: Texas House Bill 3859

The Bottom Line Texas House Bill 3859 would allow child-placement agencies to impose their beliefs on and discriminate against children and families while providing taxpayer-funded services. Agencies would be allowed to make placement decisions based on their religious beliefs, hurting

Brief
Separation and Stigma: Transgender Youth & School Facilities

The Bottom Line There are an estimated 150,000 transgender youth between the ages of 13 and 17 in America. GLSEN’s 2015 National School Climate Survey found that 75% of transgender students felt unsafe at school because of their gender expression, 50% report being unable to use the name or pronoun

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License to Discriminate: Alabama House Bill 24 & Senate Bill 145

The Bottom Line Alabama House Bill 24 and Senate Bill 145 would allow child-placement agencies to make placement decisions based on their own religious beliefs, hurting the more than 4,745 children in the care of the state of Alabama, including

Brief
License to Discriminate: How Religious Exemption Legislation for Social Services Agencies Harms Children

The Bottom Line THIS REPORT HAS BEEN UPDATED. Click here for the current report. The freedom of religion is one of our nation’s most fundamental values, which is why it is already protected in the First Amendment of the U.S.

Brief
License to Discriminate: South Dakota Senate Bill 149

The Bottom Line Senate Bill 149 allows child-placement agencies to make placement and child treatment decisions based on their own religious beliefs, as opposed to following standards that advance the best interests of children. SB 149 would allow child-placement agencies

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Mapping Transgender Equality in the United States

The Bottom Line The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community has seen both significant progress and painful setbacks recently. The 2015 Supreme Court ruling in favor of the freedom to marry was a major step toward legal equality, and there have been many successes since then at the federal,

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Talking About Transgender Students and School Facilities Access
Every student deserves a fair chance to succeed in school and prepare for their future—including students who are transgender. This guide provides messaging approaches to build support for policies that protect transgender students’ ability to access school facilities that match their gender identity.
Guide
Talking About Nondiscrimination Protections for LGBT People (Archived Guide)

Solid majorities of Americans support protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations. However, that support cannot be taken for granted, as many Americans mistakenly believe that LGBT people are already protected from discrimination. And when opponents of equality introduce false, fear-based

Guide
The Facts: Bathroom Safety, Nondiscrimination Laws, and Bathroom Ban Laws

The Bottom Line Despite widespread discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, federal and most state law still does not explicitly protect LGBT people from discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. And anti-LGBT opponents are using false and misguided fears about safety and privacy in bathrooms to

Report
LGBT Policy Spotlight: Nondiscrimination Protections for LGBT People

The Bottom Line LGBT Policy Spotlight: Nondiscrimination Protections for LGBT People breaks down state and city/county nondiscrimination laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in: Housing nondiscrimination laws protect LGBT people from being unfairly evicted, denied housing, or refused the ability to rent or buy housing.

Report
LGBT Policy Spotlight: Local Employment Nondiscrimination Ordinances

The Bottom Line LGBT Policy Spotlight: Local Employment Nondiscrimination Ordinances examines city and county nondiscrimination ordinances (NDOs) that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in private employment. The report details where these ordinances are geographically, their growth over time, and the gaps in coverage that remain. This

Report
Issue Briefs: Protecting LGBT Workers

The Bottom Line When LGBT workers go to work each day, they want to be judged on their professionalism, their experience, their performance, and their ability to get the job done. By working hard, meeting their responsibilities and playing by

Brief
A Broken Bargain: Unchecked Discrimination Against LGBT Workers

The Bottom Line The basic American bargain is that those who work hard and meet their responsibilities should have the opportunity to get ahead. It is founded on the principle that workers will be judged based solely on their performance and qualifications—no matter who they are, what they look like,

Report
An Impossible Choice: LGBT Workers & Family Leave Laws

The Bottom Line An Impossible Choice: LGBT Workers and Family Leave Laws highlights how discriminatory laws and unequal access to family and medical leave laws force lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender workers to choose between managing medical or family crises and holding onto their jobs and their livelihoods. Workers may

Report
A Broken Bargain for LGBT Workers of Color

The Bottom Line The promise of the American bargain is that people who work hard will be judged and rewarded based on their contributions and capabilities—no matter who they are, what they look like, or where they are from. Instead of having a fair chance to get ahead, for LGBT

Report
A Broken Bargain for Transgender Workers

The Bottom Line The basic American bargain is that those who work hard and meet their responsibilities should be able to get ahead. It is an agreement that workers will be judged and rewarded based on their contributions and capabilities— no matter who they are, what they look like, or

Report
Issue Brief: The Need for an Executive Order

American taxpayers send almost $300 billion per year in federal contract dollars to businesses in states that have not yet passed laws to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) workers from employment discrimination. In fact, a substantial majority (60%) of the 25 states in which businesses received $5 billion

Report
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