Employment Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Georgia

Approximately 7,500 LGBT workers in Georgia are vulnerable to employment discrimination due to a lack of state legal protections. At least 35 localities and many private corporations based in Georgia have personnel policies that prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. While Georgia law protects state workers from discrimination based on personal characteristics including race, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and age, it does not include sexual orientation or gender identity. In response to a 2013 survey, 79% of voters surveyed in Georgia said that it should be, or probably should be, illegal for government employers in the state to discriminate against their employees based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Findings from the Georgia report are consistent with national data. A 2013 Pew Research Center survey found that 21 percent of LGBT respondents had been treated unfairly by an employer in hiring, pay, or promotions. In 2010, 78 percent of respondents to the largest survey of transgender people reported having experienced harassment or mistreatment at work