Understanding Sexual Orientation & LGBT Discrimination in San Francisco
Sexual orientation and LGBT discrimination in San Francisco fall under the broader umbrella term of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and these forms of discrimination are expressly prohibited under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
Protections against sexual orientation and LGBT discrimination include protections against discrimination and harassment on the basis of your sexual orientation, your gender identity, your gender expression, and any perceived notions of your membership in these protected classes. In other words, an employer cannot treat you differently or unfavorably in relation to other employees because of your actual sexual orientation or gender identity, or your perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
What do sexual orientation, gender identity, and other forms of LGBT discrimination look like? These kinds of discrimination can take many different forms, including but not limited to the following:
- Deciding not to hire a job applicant after learning of their transgender status, or after learning the job applicant is in a same-sex marriage;
- Advertising a job for only cisgender or heterosexual applicants;
- Withdrawing a job offer after learning of an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity;
- Offering heterosexual employees or cisgender employees higher salaries than LGBT employees;
- Refusing to promote LGBT employees;
- Terminating an LGBT employee after learning about their sexual orientation or gender identity;
- Making slurs or jokes about individuals of a particular sexual orientation, or about transgender individuals; or
- Threats against, or attempts to intimidate, an LGBT employee.
While a job applicant or employee can file a claim when an employer engages in unfavorable actions against the job applicant or employee because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, it is important to know that claims can be filed in cases of LGBT harassment regardless of who the perpetrator is. To be clear, in cases involving harassment — slurs, jokes, threats, etc. — an employer, co-worker, or even a third party can be the perpetrator.
Reach Out to Our San Francisco Sexual Orientation & LGBT Discrimination Lawyers Today
If you have experienced discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other form of sex discrimination, you should seek help from Venardi Zurada LLP as soon as you can. Our law firm can assist you with a discrimination claim and can provide you with information about potential remedies. Contact our experienced San Francisco sexual orientation & LGBT discrimination lawyer today to discuss filing a discrimination claim under state or federal law. Call us at (833) 893-6763 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.
