The following pledge applies only to organizations and businesses with paid employees:
The current patchwork of federal, state and local LGBTQ legal protections leaves millions of Americans subject to uncertainty and potential discrimination that impacts their safety, their family and their way of life. 47% of LGBTQ Americans have reported experiencing discrimination in the workplace, according to a recent survey conducted by the Human Rights Campaign.
There are no explicit federal protections against discrimination on the basis of an employee’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 enumerates the following groups as protected classes: sex, race, religion, color, national origin, age and disability status. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has interpreted “sex” as inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity. However, in July 2017, in a reversal of the previous Administration’s stance, the U.S. Justice Department argued in federal court that the EEOC is incorrectly interpreting Title VII and that it does not protect employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
At the state level, Ohio is one of 28 states that lack fully inclusive employment non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ employees. As of August 2017, 19 municipalities have passed trans-inclusive LGBT employment protections. In a state this size, that still leaves thousands of community members unprotected and at the mercy of their employers.
As a Sponsor, Vendor and/or Parade Participant, I pledge that my business or organization has a policy that prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. If my business or organization does not currently have this policy, I pledge that my business or organization will enact said policy by June 2019. I understand that failure to enact said policy by June 2019 will result in our forfeiture of involvement in 2019 Pride activities.