Employment Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Tennessee

Executive Summary

More than 4% of the American workforce identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). Approximately 94,700 of these workers live in Tennessee. Tennessee does not have a statewide law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in 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 discrimination in Tennessee, 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 143,000 LGBT adults in Tennessee and approximately 94,700 LGBT people in Tennessee’s workforce.2
• Media reports and lawsuits document incidents of sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination against employees and job applicants in Tennessee.
• Surveys indicate that discrimination against LGBT workers is persistent and prevalent. For example, 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, in response to the 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey, 87% of respondents from Tennessee reported having experienced harassment or mistreatment at work at some point in their lives because of their gender identity.
• Census data show that in Tennessee, the median income of men in same-sex couples is 15%lower than the median income of men in different-sex marriages.
• In 2011, Tennessee passed a law banning localities from adopting nondiscrimination ordinances that apply to private-sector employment if they are broader than the state’s non-discrimination statute. As a result, localities cannot adopt ordinances that prohibit sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in private employment because the characteristics are not included in the state’s non-discrimination law.
• Four localities in Tennessee have ordinances that protect local government workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
• Approximately 2% of Tennessee’s workforce is covered by local ordinances that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in government employment.
• 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. At least 24 large, private-sector employers headquartered in Tennessee have internal non-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation, and 11 also include gender identity. Additionally, the Tennessee Board of Regents and the University of Tennessee have policies that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in university employment.
• Public opinion in Tennessee supports the passage of non-discrimination protections for LGBT people. In response to a national poll conducted in 2011, 72% of those polled in Tennessee said that Congress should pass a federal law to prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In addition, other polls have found that 80% of Tennessee residents think that LGBT people experience discrimination in the state.
• Adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s current non-discrimination law would result in approximately 44 additional complaints, on average, being filed with the Tennessee Human Rights Commission each year.
• 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