Mon, 04/20/2020
Last week, Virginia expanded the Virginia Human Rights Act and passed anti-discrimination protections specific to the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) community. The Virginia Values Act “[s]afeguard[s] all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawful discrimination in employment because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or status as a veteran.” Va. Code § 2.2-3900(B)(2) as reenacted and amended April 11, 2020. Employees who experience discrimination on any of these bases, including sexual orientation and gender identity, have several avenues through which they may pursue discrimination claims.
Until now, employers could make employment decisions based on their employees sexual preference or if they disapproved of their employees’ gender expression. The road to the Virginia Values Act’s enactment is paved with decades of stories of employees getting fired after their bosses found out they were in a same-sex relationship, or job applicants being denied opportunities for which they were qualified based on how they looked. Federal protections are inconsistent as to prohibiting discrimination based upon sexual orientation and gender identity, leaving it to individual states to carve them out specifically.
With enactment of the Virginia Values Act, Virginia joins twenty-three other states, two U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia in prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in public accommodations, housing, contracts, access to credit, and importantly: public and private employment.
Employees who have experienced discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity may follow the existing steps under the enforcement provisions of the Virginia Human Rights Act to pursue a claim. This includes filing a complaint with the Virginia Division of Human Rights, after which the agency will follow the general steps of forming a charge, attempting mediation, investigating, and finding reasonable cause that discrimination occurred. Once the agency has found reasonable cause, an individual proceeding in this way may elect for the agency to resolve the matter, or they may file a private civil action seeking money damages. These steps through the Division of Human Rights are unchanged after the passage of the Virginia Values Act.
The Virginia Values Act allows individuals who have been fired from a workplace employing between 5 and 15 people to file a civil action directly, without going first through the Division of Human Rights (although they can). Va. Code § 2.2-3903(C) as reenacted and amended. Additionally, the Attorney General may now prosecute a discrimination claim, and if it does, there are civil penalties it may lodge against the employer. Va. Code § 2.2-3906(B)(2) as reenacted and amended.
If you believe that your employer has discriminated against you based on your sexual orientation or gender identity, please contact MSE at info@mselaborlaw.com.
