How many states can you be fired for being gay

Nondiscrimination Laws

Housing nondiscrimination laws protect LGBTQ people from being unfairly evicted, denied housing, or refused the ability to rent or buy housing on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This map shows state housing nondiscrimination laws that explicitly enumerate sexual orientation and/or gender identity as protected classes, as well as states that explicitly interpret existing sex protections to include sexual orientation and/or gender identity.  Additionally, in states without state protections, municipalities may provide local-level nondiscrimination protections. See our maps tracking local-level nondiscrimination ordinances here. 

Other rights may exist or be recognized where you live; this map is not intended as legal advice or an indication of your rights. If you have experienced discrimination, contact Lambda Legal's Help Desk or otherwise seek legal advice.

  • State law explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (22 states , 1 t

    State Equality Index

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    The Human Rights Campaign State Equality Index (SEI) is a comprehensive state-by-state report that provides a review of statewide laws and policies that verb LGBTQ+ people and their families.

    The SEI rates all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. in six areas of law and assigns the states to one of four distinct categories.

    Check your state's scorecard by texting SEI to from your mobile cell. (msg & data rates may apply. Text Halt to quit, HELP for info.)

    State Categories

    In these states, advocates attention on raising support for basic LGBTQ+ equality, such as non-discrimination protections in employment, housing and widespread accommodations. These states are most likely to own religious refusal or other anti-LGBTQ+ laws. Advocates often further LGBTQ equality by focusing on municipal protections for LGBTQ+ people or opposing negative legislation that targets the LGBTQ+ community.

    States in this category include:

    Alabama 

    Arizona

    Arkansas

    Florida

    Georgia

    Idaho

    On August 23rd, 15 states filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court asking them to govern against three individuals who were fired for being LGBTQ. The three cases include the first transgender civil rights case to be heard by the high court on October 8th.

    Officials in Texas, Nebraska, and Tennessee led the pro-discrimination effort. They successfully added the following 12 additional state officials to the brief attacking LGBTQ rights: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Kentucky.

    These officials promoting government-sanctioned discrimination have shown that they are out-of-touch with the majority of Americans who support the plan that no one should be fired because of who they are. Across lines of party, demographics, and geography, Americans broadly support nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people, according to a recently released poll.

    The employees in these cases, including ACLU clients Aimee Stephens who was fired for being transgender and Don Zarda who was fired for being gay, have a

    Can you be fired for being gay? Answer depends largely on where you live

    Karen Pence, the wife of Vice President Mike Pence, garnered national attention this month after she returned to work at an evangelical Christian institution that bars LGBTQ employees and students. While the Virginia school’s policies sparked criticism, they also highlighted the complicated patchwork of employment protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers across the country.

    “If you are an LGBT employee in the U.S., you face a very complicated legal landscape when it comes to whether or not you can be discriminated against by a prospective employer,” Ineke Mushovic, executive director of Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank, told NBC News.

    This “complicated legal landscape” involves conflicting court rulings, differing interpretations of civil rights laws by federal agencies, a patchwork of state laws and carve outs for religiously affiliated organizations.

    THE COURTS

    For starters, there is no federal law that expressly prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexu