issues

LGBTQ+ Rights

Respect, safety, and authenticity are essential for LGBTQ+ people. We fight for your rights and stand with you every step of the way.

LGBTQ+ workers deserve respect. We’re here to make sure you get it.

 

Workplaces should be safe and affirming for LGBTQ+ people. Instead, too many are hostile, isolating, or outright dangerous.

This could mean you’re misgendered by coworkers, can’t easily get personnel records updated with your name and pronouns, or told you can’t use a restroom that matches your gender identity. You might encounter homophobic comments, invasive questions about your relationships and sex life, gendered stereotypes, or even sexual assault.

Unsupportive environments are far too common. Nearly half of LGBTQ+ workers and over 80% of trans employees have experienced discrimination and harassment at work.

If you’re facing discrimination or harassment, or just want to know your rights, we’re here to stand with you and make sure you’re respected, protected, and empowered at work.

We’re proud to stand with LGBTQ+ workers and to fight for real change.

In recent years, some corporations have pulled back their public support for LGBTQ+ rights—quietly dropping inclusive policies and gender-affirming care, avoiding advocacy, or distancing themselves from Pride and other community events.

For many LGBTQ+ people, the world and the workplace feel less safe and less supportive than they once did.

We know that transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming workers are especially targeted. Many face misgendering, deadnaming, exclusion, and even outright hostility or violence simply for living as themselves.

We see what’s happening, and we’re here for you. Our practice is built around the needs of LGBTQ+ employees who are navigating these challenges.

From your first contact, we make sure you’re respected and heard—including asking for your pronouns and listening without judgment. You don’t have to educate us about what it means to be trans, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming. We’re here to listen, believe you, and fight for you—without making you do extra work to be understood.

Every day, we help workers who have been misgendered, deadnamed, harassed, threatened, or excluded. We see promotions denied, careers stalled, and dignity attacked. We know the law, and we know how to hold employers accountable.

We’re not afraid to call out discrimination.

If you’re wondering whether what happened to you was illegal and want a lawyer who understands and respects your experience, reach out. You don’t have to go through this alone.

Framing the Issue

  • There are about eight million LGBTQ+ workers in the United States. Nearly half of them face discrimination and harassment on the job, and that figure is even larger for transgender people. 
  • The choice to come out is a personal one that can affect how you’re treated at work. LGBTQ+ employees who are out at work are more likely to experience discrimination and harassment than those who aren’t. 
  • LGBTQ+ workers make just 90 cents for every dollar earned by their colleagues. The wage gap is worse for racial minorities, women, and transgender, nonbinary, genderqueer, genderfluid and two-spirit folks.
  • Your physical and mental health can suffer when you experience discrimination or harassment or have to take steps to protect yourself, like limiting talk about your personal life or avoiding using the bathroom.
  • Employer-provided health care benefits can be hard to access. Coverage for certain procedures or family members, reproduction or adoption services, and gender-affirming care may involve bureaucratic barriers.

Notable Matters

  • Secured a favorable settlement for a gay fundraiser who was subjected to homophobic slurs by his coworkers and blamed by his supervisor after reporting sexual assault by a client.
  • Negotiated a favorable settlement for a trans masseuse who was sexually assaulted by a client and fired after reporting the incident.
  • Secured a favorable settlement for a gay advertising executive who was subjected to homophobic bullying and forcibly outed by his supervisor.
  • Negotiated a significant settlement for a nonbinary marketing manager for an outdoor lifestyle brand who was retaliated against after voicing concerns about the lack of queer and trans representation in marketing campaigns.
  • Represented a transgender restaurant worker who was bullied and misgendered by coworkers.
  • Litigated and settled claims for a gay pastry chef at a high-end New York restaurant who was mistreated and sabotaged by coworkers and management because of her sexual orientation.

Has this happened

to you?

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/
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Has anyone at work made you feel bad about your appearance, voice, mannerisms, or interests?

If you’ve been treated unfairly because of your sexual orientation or gender identity, we’re ready to stand up for your rights.

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