In June, CSEA joins in recognizing and celebrating Pride Month, which supports the LGBTQ community.
The labor movement has long been a partner in helping LGBTQ union members achieve justice and equality both on and off the job, including through CSEA’s statewide LGBTQ Committee and AFL-CIO constituency group Pride at Work, which has several chapters in New York.
“We are one union, and our LGBTQ members are an important part of our CSEA family,” said CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan. “We celebrate them and continue to advocate for their equality.”
DeMarco
“One if the most important aspects of Pride Month is a concept known well to the labor movement … Representation,” said Chantalise DeMarco, chair of CSEA’s statewide LGBTQ Committee. “To be able to freely and proudly see ourselves represented in the workforce and in society gives meaning to our voices and provides a seat at the table for our issues and a place within the diverse fabric of our communities. It gives value to lives that have spent too much time in closets everywhere and hope to those still shuttered.”
“Pride is a time not only for celebration; we reflect on how far we have come and acknowledge how far we still have to go in this country and the world,” DeMarco said. “A time to honor the sacrifices of those who gave so much to advocate for themselves and to continue that battle for equality and representation in a world perhaps not ready to willingly accept all of us.”
Progress, but work remains
More than half a century after Pride Month was first celebrated, the LGBTQ community is seeing signs of progress toward their fight for justice though plenty of work remains to be done.
President Joe Biden’s administration has shown support for the LGBTQ community in several ways since taking office.
Specific measures include an executive order extending protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity; revoking several measures by the previous administration that undermined LGBTQ rights that included ending diversity training and a ban on transgender military service and appointing members of the LGBTQ community to Cabinet and other high-level administration posts.
Biden also issued a memorandum that promotes protecting the rights of LGBTQ persons worldwide.
Biden also supports the passage of the Equality Act, which would expand federal civil rights laws to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in employment, housing, education, credit and more.
As far as employment, the U.S. Supreme Court Bostock v. Clayton County ruling, issued in June 2020, notes that under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is illegal for an employer to not hire, to fire, or to otherwise discriminate against individuals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
While many experts consider the Bostock decision important for human rights, the Equality Act would strengthen these protections.
“I hope Congress can get to my desk the Equality Act to protect the rights of LGBTQ Americans,” said Biden during his recent address to a joint session of Congress. “To all the transgender Americans watching at home — especially the young people who are so brave — I want you to know that your president has your back.”
As this edition went to press, the legislation had passed in the House of Representatives, but remains in the Senate.
— Mark M. Kotzin and Janice Gavin
How GENDA protects working people
The 2019 Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) added gender identity and expression as a protected class under the state’s Human Rights Law.
Under the law, “‘gender identity or expression’ means a person’s actual or perceived gender-related identity, appearance, behavior, expression, or other gender-related characteristic regardless of the sex assigned to that person at birth, including, but not limited to, the status of being transgender.”
Specifically for working people, this means that an employer may not treat someone differently or make an adverse employment action against an employee because of their gender identity or expression.
Under GENDA, employers are prohibited from asking questions about gender identity or expression in a job interview.
It is also illegal to refuse to hire a prospective employee, terminate a current employee, or to apply different terms or conditions of employment to an individual based upon gender identity or expression.
Employers also cannot require grooming or appearance standards based upon sex stereotypes.
GENDA also prohibits discrimination based upon gender identity or expression in other areas, including housing, equal access to a public accommodation, access to credit, and access to secular schools.
Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court held in the June 2020 opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County that it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee because they are homosexual or transgendered.
The Court ruled that discrimination of an employee because they are homosexual or transgendered violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because that is discrimination on the basis of sex, which is prohibited under the law.
If you or someone you know believes they have been discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, you can file a complaint with:
New York State Division of Human Rights, which covers discrimination related to employment, housing, education or credit. To learn more, visit https://dhr.ny.gov.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which covers employment discrimination. In New York, EEOC has field offices in New York City and Buffalo. Visit EEOC’s website to find the correct office for your county. To learn more, visit https://www.eeoc.gov.
