Ethics--Workplace for Gays and Lesbians

The State of the Workplace for Gays and Lesbians

by Kim I. Mills, Human Rights Campaign
Monster Contributing Writer

American workplaces have come a long way in the last 25 years. In 1975, AT&T became the first US corporation to add sexual orientation to its nondiscrimination policy. Seven years later, the Village Voice became the first employer to add same-sex domestic partners to its health insurance benefits program.

Some gains have resulted from changing laws, but many are due to market forces and the increasing sophistication with which gay and lesbian workers advocate for themselves. In addition, more gays and lesbians are out in the open about their sexuality, both at work and elsewhere in society, which has helped move public opinion in a positive direction.

The Private Sector

At this writing, at least 2,162 employers have nondiscrimination policies covering sexual orientation, and 4,463 offer health insurance benefits to employees' domestic partners. And the higher a company is on the Fortune 500 list, the more likely it is to have both domestic partner benefits and a written nondiscrimination policy covering sexual orientation.

The Public Sector

The first state to pass a law against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation was Wisconsin in 1982. Eleven states have since followed suit, and there are also eight states with executive orders barring sexual orientation discrimination in their public workforces.

In an effort to attract and keep the best workers, scores of public employers have also added domestic partner benefits. Today, eight states and 130 local governments and quasi-governmental agencies offer such coverage to their employees' partners.

The federal government isn't quite keeping pace -- either with private industry or state and local governments. Congress has yet to pass the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA), a bill that would outlaw job discrimination based on sexual orientation. ENDA was first introduced in 1994 and was voted out of a Senate committee for the first time this past April. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (Democrat - South Dakota) has promised a vote before Congress adjourns in the fall. But chances of the bill passing the House this year are not strong since the Republican leadership does not support it.

Federal employees are protected from discrimination by an executive order signed by President Clinton in 1998 that is so far still in effect under the Bush administration. Federal workers are not eligible for domestic partner benefits, although Rep. Barney Frank (Democrat - Massachusetts) has introduced a bill to change that.

The Growth of Domestic Partner Benefits

Much of the recent growth of domestic partner benefits can be traced to two important factors: The low unemployment rate during much of the 1990s, which led employers to seek creative yet inexpensive means of attracting the best employees, and passage of the first equal benefits ordinance in San Francisco. That 1996 law states that any employer under contract with the city must offer the same benefits to its employees' domestic partners as it offers to married spouses. Since then, the number of employers offering such benefits and the number of jurisdictions passing similar ordinances have increased.

Another important but rarely noted fact is that two-thirds of the employers offering domestic partner benefits cover both same-sex and opposite-sex domestic partners. This trend appears to be in reaction to America's changing demographics. According to the 2000 census, many more Americans live in "nontraditional" households -- such as unmarried partners and people living with other relatives. Human resources managers are realizing benefits programs that essentially pay married workers more than unmarried workers are inherently unfair and need reexamination.

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