Employment Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Kentucky

Executive Summary

Approximately 80,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) workers live in Kentucky. Kentucky does not have a statewide law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in both public and private sector employment.

This report summarizes recent evidence of sexual orientation and gender identity employment discrimination, explains the limited current protections from sexual orientation and gender identity employment discrimination in Kentucky, and estimates the administrative impact of passing a law prohibiting employment discrimination based on these characteristics in the state.

Key Findings

• In total there are approximately 135,000 LGBT adults in Kentucky, including over 80,000 who are part of Kentucky’s workforce.1
• Media reports and lawsuits document incidents of sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination against employees in Kentucky. These include reports from a police sergeant, a state government employee, and a public school administrator.
• National surveys find that discrimination against LGBT workers is prevalent across the country. Most recently, a 2013 Pew Research Center survey found that 21% of LGBT respondents had been treated unfairly by an employer in hiring, pay, or promotions.
• When transgender people are surveyed separately, they report similar or higher levels of discrimination. For example, as recently as 2010, 78% of respondents to the largest survey of transgender people to date reported having experienced harassment or mistreatment at work, and 47% reported having been discriminated against in hiring, promotion, or job retention because of their gender identity. A gubernatorial executive order in Kentucky provides protection from sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination for state executive branch employees.
• Seven localities in Kentucky have ordinances prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity: Covington, Danville, Frankfort, Morehead, Vicco, Louisville Metro, and Lexington-Fayette County. Additionally, a mayoral executive order in one city, Berea, prohibits discrimination against the city’s own government employees.
• Approximately 77% of Kentucky’s workforce is not covered by a local ordinance that prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.2
• Private companies may adopt internal non-discrimination policies to improve recruitment and retention of talented employees, to increase employee productivity and customer satisfaction, or to attract a larger customer base. All eight of the Fortune 1000 companies based in Kentucky have policies prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, and five of those companies also prohibit discrimination based on gender identity.
• Public opinion in Kentucky supports the passage of a statewide law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In response to a 2010 survey, 84% of 600 Kentuckians surveyed said they agreed with the statement that LGBT people should be protected from workplace discrimination. In addition, other polls find that 78% of Kentucky residents think that LGBT people experience a moderate amount to a lot of discrimination in the state.
• Adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s current non-discrimination law would result in approximately 38 additional complaints being filed with the Kentucky Human Rights Commission each year.
• Because the annual number of discrimination complaints filed with the Commission varied by an average of 36 complaints over the last 10 years, the anticipated new complaints based on sexual orientation and gender identity could likely be absorbed into the existing system with no need for additional staff and negligible costs.

Download the full report