San Antonio employment lawyer Rob Wiley is the co-chair of the National Employment Lawyers Association’s Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination.
He represents individuals who have been discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Discrimination can occur in hiring, firing, promotion, demotion, compensation and any other aspect of employment. Discrimination can also occur when an employee “comes out” only to find that coworkers and supervisors treat him or her differently.
Unfortunately, neither federal nor Texas state law yet explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. In 2008, San Antonio employment lawyer Rob Wiley assisted in drafting and reviewing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2008, which would have prohibited such discrimination. Despite passage by the United States House of Representatives, the bill did not pass the Senate and did not become law.
Despite the embarrassing absence of law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, many corporations, counties, municipalities and other states have adopted policies prohibiting it. In fact, San Antonio is the only major city in the United States that does not have an ordinance to include protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered government employees.
However, state and federal law may prohibit sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination if it occurs on the basis of gender. For example, taunts against a gay man such as “sissy,” “girl,” and mockery of effeminate behavior constitute gender discrimination. Discrimination against a female-to-male transgendered employee constitutes gender discrimination where the employer takes action because the employee fails to conform to female gender stereotypes.
If you believe that you have been discriminated against because of sexual orientation or gender identity, please contact San Antonio employment lawyer Rob Wiley.
