Improving State Policies Prohibiting Public Employment Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation

Abstract

While manyhave studied the occurrence of employment discrimination against gay men and lesbians, little has been done to evaluate the implementation and enforcement of policies that protect against it. As no federal law has been enacted to address this matter, states are currently the highest level of government to address public employment discrimination based upon sexual orientation. By reviewing existing statutes and executive orders prohibiting public employment discrimination within an implementation framework, the author is able to draw preliminary conclusions on the likely success of these policies.