Georgia Laws Regarding Employment Discrimination

Employment Discrimination

Advocacy

Advocacy groups exist in a few different forms, some that work on federal issues, and others that are more focused on state issues. States have the right to pass laws that offer protections that go beyond the federal laws -- the Civil Rights Act is the baseline federal standard. As an example, the federal policy on sexual orientation as a protected class relies largely on EEOC rulings, as it is not written into federal law. Several states have therefore chosen to write their own employment discrimination laws to extend protections to other classes than those who are covered under federal law. The state laws may also apply to more companies, as under federal law a company must have 15 employees in order for the law to apply.

States that lack employment discrimination protections will often have advocacy groups that are fighting at the state level to have protections extended to those who have not enjoyed such protections previously. One such group is Georgia Equality, which has a mission to "advance fairness, safety and opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities" (GeorgiaEquality.org, 2016). Georgia is one of 28 states that do not offer protections to workers on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The group works with other like-minded advocacy groups, including those who have had success and those working on states like Georgia that do not offer protections at the state level.

Level

As noted, Georgia Equality is working at the state level, where it seeks to have the State of Georgia enact a law that offers employment discrimination protection for LGBT people. The group notes that the EEOC ruling in July 2015 that Title VII includes protection based on sexual orientation, but the ruling this is just a legal pathway. The wording regarding LGBT people is not specifically in the Civil Rights Act, and there are only a few rulings that will set a precedent. The EEOC is building a body of cases that it will be using as precedent, but there are still opportunities for discrimination to legally exist. At issue is the fact that there are gaps in the law, and gaps in the rulings, and that these will take time to fill in. Until they do, and especially until the LGBT people are granted protections under the Civil Rights Act, they may still face discrimination.

Further, the fact that state laws do not offer any such protections means that the state laws offer no safeguard against discrimination, either for people who are unsuccessful with their claims at the federal level, or for people who work for an organization not currently covered by the federal legislation. Georgia Equality seeks remedy in the form of a law at the state level that prohibits employment discrimination based on LGBT status. The Georgia Code provides for protection from discrimination based on gender and based on disability, but not other traits.

Definition of the Problem and Strategies to Solve it

The problem is defined as an existing gap between federal rulings, federal legislation and state legislation that allows for discrimination of all LGBT persons in Georgia based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The EEOC rulings provide some protection, but this is a fairly new development and without specific laws discrimination might still be possible in companies covered by federal law. In companies not covered by federal law, there are no protections. The advocacy group is focused on all forms of discrimination against LGBT people, so they advocate against discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation. With employment, they have adopted the federal standard that covers discrimination as in hiring, firing, promotions and pay as the key issues.

The group has also worked with many at local levels. They have a basic text, the Fair Employment Practices Act, that they wish to see passed at the state level. They have, however, worked to pass this act at local levels, to afford protections for individuals in as many of Georgia's cities and town as possible, until such time as they see their act passed at the state level (GeorgiaEquality.org, 2016, 2).

In addition to working with local level advocacy groups, and other state-level groups fighting the same battle, they also have expressed a call to arms on their website. Georgia Equality advocates that people contact their lawmakers to express support for the passage of the Fair Employment Practices Act. The employers will likely be aware of this act, and the group hopes that enough Georgians will contact their lawmakers that the lawmakers see that there is support among the public for this. The group takes in donations as well, to help finance its activities, pay for lawyers or lobbyists, and other activities that will put this issue closer to the fore.

Successes

There have been a number of successes at local levels. This is essentially the current strategy, to work with progressive legislators at the local levels to build a groundswell of support for these laws everywhere in the state. The more cities and towns that have anti-discrimination laws on the books, the more Georgians will be covered. The City of Atlanta has built sexual orientation and gender identity into the anti-discrimination section of its Charter and Code of Ordinances, for example, offering protections in the state's largest city (City of Atlanta, 2016).

In other cities, however, there are still battles in this regard. There were protests in March in Athens with activists calling for anti-discrimination laws in the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government (Hammel, 2016). So there are many cities that are resistant to the idea of offering these protections.