You probably learned in high school civics class that most of the laws that affect your daily life are state laws instead of federal ones. For example, it is the state of Montana, and not the federal government, that makes the rules about sales taxes, motorcycle helmets, and marriage licenses, among other matters that you encounter personally. Therefore, the protected characteristics to which employment discrimination laws are applicable vary from one state to another. Montana law does not recognize sexual orientation as a protected characteristic when it comes to employment discrimination.
Despite this, if your employer discriminates against you because of your sexual orientation, or because of what your employer assumes your sexual orientation to be, you may still be able to pursue an employment discrimination complaint. The Bozeman sexual orientation discrimination lawyers at HKM Employment Attorneys LLP can help you navigate the legal complexities of exercising your right to a discrimination-free workplace.
Employment Discrimination and Protected Characteristics in Montana Law
Employers have the right to take adverse actions against employees, such as firing employees, reducing their pay, or changing their work duties, when the employee did not request this, if the reason is employee misconduct or poor job performance. They might also take adverse actions like these against employees in good standing if the employer’s tight financial circumstances require this. If an employer takes an adverse action against an employee because of a protected characteristic of the employee, and not because the employee has done anything wrong, this is employment discrimination, and it is illegal.
Protected characteristics are personal characteristics of the employee that the employee cannot change for the duration of a shift at work; they are stable characteristics, if not always permanent ones. For example, national origin is a protected characteristic, and so is being older than 40, but so is marital status and disability. Once you turn 40, you will never again be in your 30s, but it is possible that an employer might hire an unmarried employee, and the employee might get married while he or she is working for the employer. If you experience discrimination at work because of your sexual orientation or another protected characteristic, contact the sexual orientation discrimination lawyers at HKM Employment Attorneys LLP.
Local Laws Can Offer Protections From Employment Discrimination When Statewide Laws Do Not Offer These
The characteristics that count as protected characteristics vary from one state to another. The Montana Human Rights Act recognizes the protected characteristics of race, color, national origin, age, religion, marital status, and disability. It does not list sexual orientation as a protected characteristic. This means that, in theory, it is possible for you to present thoroughly compelling testimony before a court that your sexual orientation is the only reason that your employer took an adverse action against you, and the court could rule that your employer was within its rights to take the adverse action against you for that reason.
That is not how sexual orientation discrimination claims always go in Montana, though, and there are several reasons for this. First, five jurisdictions in Montana have enacted local ordinances prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, effectively making sexual orientation a protected characteristic under local laws. Bozeman is one of the cities in Montana that lists sexual orientation as a protected characteristic. The others are Butte, Helena, Missoula, and Whitefish. If you look at these five dots on a map of Montana, it does not look like much, but these are among the most populous cities in Montana and the sites of its biggest employers. The effect is that more than a quarter of the workforce in Montana works in areas that have laws protecting against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Even if you live far enough outside Bozeman that the laws against sexual orientation discrimination do not apply, you might be able to file a complaint about discrimination based on sex or marital status. For example, if your coworkers harass you and assume that you are a lesbian because you are an unmarried woman, this counts as them harassing you because you are an unmarried woman, which is employment discrimination.
What Does Sexual Orientation Discrimination Look Like?
Sexual orientation discrimination might take the form of an employer refusing to hire you because of an assumption they made about your sexual orientation, such as if you have a rainbow flag keychain. In some cases, even in areas with laws against sexual orientation discrimination, employers with a religious affiliation may require employees to sign statements promising to follow the teachings of the employer’s denomination; this might exclude job applicants who married their same sex spouse in a civil marriage or in a church of another denomination. It is also discrimination if you do not disclose your sexual orientation to your employer, but coworkers find out when they see you outside of work with your partner, and after that, your employer begins to treat you differently.
Likewise, sexual orientation discrimination can take the form of derogatory comments and offensive jokes. For example, a gay man might frequently tell a straight woman who works for him that straight women are basic and boring or that she looks like a soccer mom who tries to make money through multilevel marketing because she does not have any original ideas.
What to Do If You Experience Discrimination at Work
Employment discrimination lawsuits require preliminary authorization from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Montana Human Rights Bureau. You can file your preliminary complaint first with the EEOC, first with the Bureau, or both at the same time. The EEOC or Bureau will investigate your claims and see if they are credible enough for the court to consider them. It is a good idea to hire an employment discrimination lawyer to represent you in your dealings with the Bureau or the EEOC.
HKM Employment Attorneys for Sexual Orientation Discrimination
The Bozeman employment lawyers at HKM Employment Attorneys LLP can give you advice about filing a sexual orientation discrimination complaint against your employer. Contact our employment lawyers at HKM in Bozeman, Montana, to set up a consultation.
