Majority Of Americans Risk LGBT Job Discrimination

I'm always surprised by the number of people who are unaware of the basic facts of LGBT discrimination in the United States so it's good to see that there are many resources to educate interested people about the scope of it.

For example, over at Center for American Progress they have summarized some interesting statistics about LGBT employment discrimination:

• 76,300,000 workers, or 55% of all workers, can be unduly forced into unemployment based on sexual orientation- or gender identity-discrimination

• 42,044,205 children currently live in a state that has failed to pass a law that would make firing their parent, guardian, or other caretaker illegal

• In terms of area, 71%of the square mileage in the United States are in states that afford no legal protections for gay and transgender workers

• 75% of all US counties are in states where it remains legal to fire someone for being gay or transgender under state law

• 9,039,863 manufacturing workers, 1,611,657 famers, and 1,816,964 K-12 teachers live and work in states that do not have statutes outlawing sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination

• African-Americans are more likely to live in states without these protections. 67% lack sexual orientation and gender identity protections, compared to 55% of the general population

If the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) were to pass Congress and be signed into law, it would prohibit employment non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in every state in the country, under federal law.

 Otherwise, it may be years (or even decades!) before openly LGBT people can be out at work without fearing losing their job based on a characteristic which is irrelevant to job performance.

Hat/tip to LGBT Think Progress.