Update on State Statutes and Administrative Complaint Data on Employment Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Twenty-two states currently have statutes that explicitly prohibit sexual orientation-based employment discrimination. Included in this group are eighteen states which, in addition, explicitly prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity, five more than when we previously reported on this issue in 2009. GAO surveyed these states to verify information about state statutes and to collect data on the total number of administrative employment discrimination complaints filed, as well as the number of complaints that identified sexual orientation or gender identity as one of the claimed bases for employment discrimination, and reported this data for the years 2007 through 2012. These data showed that there were relatively few employment discrimination complaints based on sexual orientation and gender identity filed in these states during this time period.