Does Georgia recognize a claim for sexual orientation discrimination?

Yes, Georgia does recognize sexual orientation as a protected category and does recognize a claim for sexual orientation discrimination. Claims of employment discrimination based on homosexuality, transsexuality, and transvestitism are now protected by courts where the employer has relied on sex based considerations or taken sex into account when taking the challenged employment action.

The United States Supreme Court now agrees with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s position that discrimination based on homosexuality, transsexuality, and transvestitism is in fact discrimination. In a landmark and historic decision for LGBTQ rights, the U.S. Supreme Court has now ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects gay, lesbian, and transgender employees from discrimination based on sex.

In the decision, Justice Gorsuch said that: “Today, we must decide whether an employer can fire someone simply for being homosexual or transgender. The answer is clear.” That answer was that such discrimination is barred by the language in the 1964 law that bans discrimination in employment based on race, religion, national origin or sex. The opinion went on to state that: “It is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating … based on sex…”

The opinion can be found here.

If you believe that your employer has treated you wrongly, call me at (912) 244-3999 to schedule an initial consultation so we can sit down and talk about the facts of your case and so that I can give you my opinion about whether or not you have a case.