The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Monday that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits workplace discrimination based on sex, applies to sexual orientation and gender identity as well. While New Mexico already protects LGBTQ workers under state law, advocates here say the decision is still an important step. Despite legal protections, LGBTQ New Mexicans continue to face workplace discrimination.
means that the LGBTQ workers who live in one of that does not protect employees against discrimination based on both sexual orientation and gender identity are now protected.
The importance of the high court鈥檚 decision, in which two conservative justices sided with the court鈥檚 four liberal members, isn鈥檛 lost on Adrian Carver, Executive Director of . 鈥淚t鈥檚 a landmark moment for legal equality,鈥� Carver told 九色网.
In New Mexico, LGBTQ employees were already protected under the state鈥檚 , and that passed unanimously last year extended it to small businesses. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 an indication of where New Mexico is at on all of these issues,鈥� Carver said of the overwhelming support for the 2019 bill in the legislature. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 glad to see the rest of the country catching up.鈥�
But policy can only do so much. 鈥淚n New Mexico we experience legal equality,鈥� Carver said, 鈥渂ut the truth is 鈥� and especially for trans women of color 鈥� our communities don鈥檛 experience lived equality.鈥�
Carver says his organization still gets calls from LGBTQ New Mexicans who say they鈥檝e experienced discrimination at work, including hearing slurs or being fired. shows Native American, Black, and multiracial trans women are the most likely to lose a job because of their gender identity or expression.
If you believe you鈥檝e been discriminated against at work because of your sexual orientation or gender identity, you can contact , the , or . You can also file a claim directly with the .
