Skip to main content

Jobs Programs Across the Country Get Guidance on LGBT Protections

Image

The Department of Labor (DOL) Employment and Training Administration issued a Training and Employment Guidance Letter last week to ensure that LGBT workers and students have equal access to the wide range of job programs funded by DOL, including American Job Centers, state workforce agencies, and many other programs. The letter explains that federal sex discrimination laws, as well as many state and local laws, protect LGBT people from employment discrimination, providing examples of prohibited discrimination, and suggesting ways to prevent, identify, and address discrimination.

National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) Director of Policy Harper Jean Tobin said of the letter: “Job centers and job programs across country can offer tremendous help to LGBT people, and especially trans people, who face particular barriers to employment because of bias. This guidance will help fulfill that promise. The Department of Labor has sent a clear message that gender policing and other forms of bias or exclusion are unacceptable in our nation's workforce investment system.”

The letter was addressed to a number of programs, including American Job Centers (formerly called One-Stop Career Centers), State Workforce Agencies, Job Corps sites, grant programs for seniors, migrant farmworkers, and Native Americans, and other recipients of Department of Labor funds. The guidance makes clear that sex discrimination laws prohibit excluding or penalizing applicants for using restrooms consistent with their gender identity, dressing consistent with and otherwise expressing their gender identity, having identification with different gender markers, or being in a same-sex relationship. Programs are also cautioned to respect workers' privacy and to use chosen names and appropriate pronouns. DOL issues the letter under its authority for administering the federal Workforce Investment Act.

In practical terms, this means that jobs programs should review their policies for compliance with the non-discrimination policies under the law. More importantly, it also means that applicants and others working in programs receiving federal funds from the Department of Labor should feel empowered to file a complaint if they are experiencing discrimination as a result of their gender identity or expression.

This guidance from the Employment and Training Administration comes alongside important OSHA guidelines issued yesterday regarding equal restroom access for all employees and a recent policy released by DOL ensuring equal access for transgender applicants to Job Corps programs.

For more information, please visit our Know Your Rights Employment resource.

Join Our Mailing List

Sign Up