A Broken Bargain: Unchecked Discrimination Against LGBT Workers

MAP's new issue brief, A Broken Bargain: Unchecked Discrimination Against LGBT Workers, summarizes the most current information about the discrimination LGBT people face in the workplace.

The brief paints a sobering portrait of widespread inequality and documents how LGBT workers continue to face unfair treatment, harassment, and discrimination. Yet they often have nowhere to turn for help. No federal law provides explicit legal protections for LGBT workers, and fewer than half of states have laws that protect workers based on their sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.

 A Broken Bargain: Unchecked Discrimination Against LGBT Workers details the issues faced by LGBT workers, offers solutions for fair treatment at work, and outlines policy recommendations to help level the playing field for LGBT workers. A companion to A Broken Bargain: Discrimination, Fewer Benefits, and More Taxes for LGBT Workers, the new issue brief was co-authored by MAP, the Center for American Progress, Freedom to Work, and the Human Rights Campaign, in partnership with the National Center for Transgender Equality, and Out and Equal Workplace Advocates. 

A Broken Bargain: Unchecked Discrimination Against LGBT Workers is available at http://www.lgbtmap.org/unchecked-discrimination-against-lgbt-workers

   

 

Follow MAP on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about the movement for LGBT equality.

seeking comments on supporting the sexual orientation and gender identity data collection in Stage 3 Meaningful Use Guidelines

Hello Everyone,

Long story short we are all pushing for and/or understand the importance of comprehensive inclusion of LGBT communities in all surveillance instruments through sexual orientation and gender identity measures. Currently the Health Information Technology Policy Committee is seeking comments on supporting the sexual orientation and gender identity data collection in Stage 3 Meaningful Use Guidelines.

By the Close of Business day we are hoping to get as many CEO’s and Directors of Organizations, Foundations etc. to sign on to a letter developed by the Fenway Institute and the Center for American Progress. 

 

Click Here To Directly Sign Onto The Letter

 

Click Here To View The Full Blog & Letter

 

Gustavo Torrez | Program Manager, The Network for LGBT Health Equity. The Fenway Institute | Fenway Health, Ansin Building, 8th Floor, 1340 Boylston Street | Boston, MA 02215  voice: 617.927.6451 | fax: 617.267.0764 www.lgbthealthequity.org www.thefenwayinstitute.org

Protecting Our LGBT Elders: An Overview of LGBT Aging Issues

By Jeff Krehely , Michael Adams | September 28, 2010

Earlier this year, Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, & Transgender Elders, or SAGE, and the Movement Advancement Project, or MAP, released "Improving the Lives of LGBT Older Adults" in partnership with the Center for American Progress, the American Society on Aging, and the National Senior Citizens Law Center. The report provides an overview of LGBT elders' unique needs and the policy and regulatory changes that are needed to adequately address them.

To follow up on that work, SAGE, MAP, and CAP have developed 11 policy briefs that provide more information on the issues raised in the report. This memo provides links to and summaries of these briefs. For a very fast summary of the issues at play, see the Facts at a Glance document.

Falling Through the Safety Net: This brief illustrates how policy and social barriers gradually tear away at the safety net for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, or LGBT, older adults—and how these inequities compound and reinforce each other, creating a dramatically different aging experience for LGBT older adults based solely on the different treatment they experience because they are not heterosexual. It explains that the barriers and inequality facing LGBT older adults stem from the effects of social stigmas and prejudice, their reliance on informal "families of choice" for care and support, and inequitable laws and programs that treat LGBT elders unequally. These barriers can prevent LGBT elders from achieving three key elements of successful aging: financial security, good health and health care, and social support and community engagement.

Social Security: LGBT older adults are not eligible for Social Security spousal benefits, survivor benefits, or death benefits. This disparate treatment is especially unjust because Social Security benefits are not freely given; they are based on the contributions people make throughout their working lives—and LGBT people work and pay into Social Security in the same manner as their heterosexual counterparts. The lack of equal Social Security benefits contributes to higher poverty rates among older same-sex couples and significantly reduces their retirement income, potentially leaving a surviving same-sex spouse without a living-wage income.

Medicaid: Medicaid generally pays for older Americans requiring long-term institutional or home-based care. Only individuals with low assets and income can qualify for Medicaid, but Medicaid qualification rules also include a series of "spousal impoverishment protections" that aim to prevent requiring a healthy spouse to live in poverty in order to qualify a sick spouse for Medicaid. Unfortunately, these spousal impoverishment protections do not apply to same-sex couples, which can leave the same-sex partner of a Medicaid recipient homeless, penniless, and without a living-wage income.

Pension Plans: LGBT older adults are often denied pension plan options that provide financial protections for a surviving partner—even though LGBT employees earn their pensions through the same hard work and financial contributions as their heterosexual counterparts. The lack of pension income can devastate a surviving partner in the event of a death, especially given that LGBT elders are poorer and less financially secure than American elders as a whole. Even when both partners are healthy, LGBT older adults are denied the peace of mind that comes from knowing that a surviving partner will receive an adequate living income upon the death of the pension holder.

Tax-Qualified Retirement Plans: Inheriting a tax-qualified retirement plan from a loved one can cost an LGBT person thousands of dollars per year in retirement income because of different treatment under the law. This inequity is especially significant given that LGBT elders are poorer and less financially secure than Americans as a whole.

Estate Tax and Inheritance Laws: Unlike their heterosexual counterparts, unless an LGBT elder has specific legal documents in place upon their death, state laws generally hand over financial decision-making and inheritance to spouses or blood relatives rather than domestic partners or families of choice. This means that surviving LGBT partners or other loved ones can be totally shut out of an inheritance, resulting in the loss of critical retirement savings, forfeiture of a family home, or impoverishment. Additionally, even when a surviving partner does inherit a deceased loved one's assets, inequitable tax treatment of same-sex couples can mean paying 45 percent in taxes on an inheritance that a surviving heterosexual spouse would inherit tax free.

Legal Barriers to Taking Care of Loved Ones: LGBT older adults confront many challenges their heterosexual counterparts do not face. Some of the most unconscionable are laws that stand in the way of LGBT people taking care of those they love, in life and in death. LGBT people are not granted family or medical leave to take care of a sick or terminally ill partner under federal law and most state laws. Furthermore, LGBT people could be excluded from medical decision making for a partner. Finally, upon the death of a partner, LGBT people are often denied making end-of-life decisions about last rites, funerals, and disposition of remains.

Exclusion from Aging Programs and Services: LGBT older adults often face harassment or hostility when accessing aging programs and when frequenting senior centers, volunteer centers or places of worship. Few aging service providers plan for, or conduct outreach to, the LGBT community—and few are prepared to address acts of discrimination aimed at LGBT elders by staff or other older people. This makes many LGBT older adults reluctant to access mainstream aging services, which increases their social isolation and negatively impacts their physical and mental health.

Inhospitable Health Care Environments: Older Americans are frequently dependent on the assistance of professional health care providers, whether home-based service providers or doctors, nurses, and staff at medical centers and long-term care facilities. LGBT older adults, who are less likely to be able to rely on family members for caregiving, often face hostile or unwelcoming health care providers, or might encounter staff members who are unfamiliar with the needs of the LGBT community. These experiences and fears can cause LGBT older adults to delay seeking necessary health care, sometimes indefinitely, and can lead to premature institutionalization in nursing homes and long-term care facilities due to fear of hostile in-home care providers.

Health Disparities: LGBT older adults experience health disparities across four general areas: access to health care, HIV/AIDS, mental health, and chronic physical conditions. Additionally, extra taxation on retiree health insurance benefits means that many LGBT elders simply cannot afford to receive retiree health insurance. This is especially problematic given that LGBT older adults face a wide range of physical health disparities that are generally unaddressed by governments or health care providers.

Rethinking Aging Laws for Today's Older Adults: Most federal and state safety net programs that support older adults are built around the presumption of a married heterosexual couple. This presumption simply does not match the reality of the lives of today's older adults. Almost one-third of the entire population aged 65 and older are widowed men and women, and 42 percent of women aged 65 and older and 59 percent of women aged 75 and older are widowed. Many heterosexual elders live in domestic partnerships, often because marrying or remarrying would result in unaffordable financial consequences. Just more than 4 percent of older adults (including those in religious orders and those who simply choose to remain single) were never married. Another 4 percent of older adults are gay, lesbian, or bisexual, and may be single or in a legally recognized same-sex relationship. Policymakers need to examine ways to adapt laws and safety nets to help protect all of today's older adults. Many of the recommendations to help LGBT older adults would also improve the lives of heterosexual elders in domestic partnerships, or single and widowed heterosexual elders who are not able to rely on a spouse for financial or caretaking support.

These briefs—and the full report—offer a plan to help our nation better care for and serve its increasingly visible older LGBT population. Now is the time to make changes to laws, community services and attitudes, and health care practices to help elders improve their financial security, access culturally competent health care, and remain active and fully engaged members of their communities. All Americans deserve the chance to age with dignity, and solutions that help LGBT elders do so will help all Americans who are aging or face inequality.

Michael Adams is the Executive Director of Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders and Jeff Krehely is Director of the LGBT Research and Communications Project at the Center for American Progress.

Posted at Center for American Progress http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/09/lgbt_aging.html

Reposted at http://keystothecloset.blogspot.com

Why Gay and Transgender Discrimination Outside the Workplace: We Need Protections in Housing, Health Care, and Public Accommodations

By Crosby Burns, Philip Ross
Posted on Center for American Progress, reposted at keystothecloset.blogspot.com

An overflow crowd listens to a testimony on a gay civil rights bill during a public hearing in Olympia, Washington.

Many people know that gay and transgender individuals experience high rates of discrimination and harassment in the workplace. But gay and transgender individuals also experience discrimination in other areas, such as housing, healthcare, and areas of public accommodations. Unfortunately, no federal law currently exists to shield gay and transgender individuals from discrimination.

Activists and lawmakers have long advocated for laws such as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, that would protect gay and transgender workers from senseless discrimination on the job. More needs to be done to combat discrimination against gay and transgender Americans not only in the workplace, but in all spheres of life.

This memo examines this problem more closely to show why comprehensive legislation is needed to protect these Americans. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/07/lgbt_discrimination.html

Don’t Delay Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal

SOURCE: AP/Alex Brandon

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, left, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen speak during a media availability at the Pentagon Wednesday, May 18, 2011 in Washington.By Crosby Burns | June 8, 2011

Last December, Congress passed the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010, marking the first step toward repealing the military’s outdated and ineffective ban on openly gay troops. With DADT repeal implementation and training well underway, we are closer than ever to finally allowing gay men and women to serve openly and honestly in the armed forces.

Under the law President Barack Obama signed in December 2010, open service will begin 60 days after the president, the secretary of defense, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify that repeal will not impact military readiness or effectiveness. Prior to certification, Secretary Gates and Chairman Mullen have tasked military leaders with preparing to implement repeal, which includes updating guidelines, policy manuals, and directives, and training the troops in preparation for open service.

On the eve of the bipartisan vote in Congress that repealed DADT, a comprehensive survey revealed that the majority of troops believed that allowing open service would have an overall positive or neutral effect on the armed forces. Our military leaders have repeatedly testified their support for legislative repeal and the certification process, and with much of training already complete, it has become clear that DADT repeal is simply a nonevent for our troops. The public, too, has long supported open service of gay and lesbian troops.

But conservative members of the House of Representatives have chosen to ignore the recommendations of our military’s leaders. The House recently approved its version of the fiscal year 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which included several amendments that jeopardize the successful DADT repeal process that is well underway.

President Obama, Secretary Gates, and Chairman Mullen clearly support repealing DADT, asserting that allowing gay men and women to serve openly abolishes an outdated, flawed, and discriminatory law that ultimately weakens our national security. Considering that House conservatives are trying to keep in place a policy that is harmful to our country, Secretary Gates, Chairman Mullen, and President Obama should do everything they can to speed up the certification process.

Conservatives and DADT: Delay, disrupt, and derail
The House of Representatives passed its version of the 2012 NDAA on May 26, 2011 by a vote of 322-96, with six Republicans voting against and 95 Democrats supporting the bill. The House NDAA included three amendments aimed to delay, disrupt, and derail the successful but still ongoing implementation of DADT repeal. One of these amendments, introduced by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), would require the chiefs of staff for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps to also certify that repeal will not impact military readiness or effectiveness.

This amendment is an unnecessary political distraction that defies the wishes of our military’s leaders. Secretary Gates and Chairman Mullen have both indicated that they are in close consultation with the service chiefs as the implementation process moves forward. Further, Secretary Gates commented that he would not issue his certification until the service chiefs are confident that open service would not undermine unit cohesion and combat effectiveness. The service chiefs themselves have voiced opposition with expanding the certification requirements, testifying before Congress that they trust Secretary Gates and Chairman Mullen to address their concerns before eliminating the policy. They further warned that expanding certification to include the chiefs would undermine the military’s chain of command.

Conservative members of the House, however, blatantly ignored the will and advice of these military leaders. Rep. Hunter actually went far as to question the leadership, competence, and experience of Secretary Gates and Chairman Mullen.

Training the troops is a vital step in repealing DADT
As CAP has reported, all branches of the military are currently implementing the first steps of DADT repeal. This includes updating the Pentagon’s policy manuals, directives, and guidelines so that a single standard of conduct will apply to all military personnel whether they are gay or straight. Regulations dealing with benefits, housing, and conduct are also being updated to reflect the open service of gay men and women.

Most importantly, the military has made significant progress training troops to prepare them for open service, and to “underscore that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect.” Beginning in February, each branch began with Tier 1 training of those serving with special skills such as lawyers, chaplains, and personnel specialists. Next, Tier 2 training includes commanding officers and senior noncommissioned officers, and finally Tier 3 training includes the rank-and-file of the armed forces. Each branch has begun implementing Tier 2 and Tier 3 training.

Training across all three tiers is now moving forward successfully and without disruption under the strong leadership of our military’s commanders. This is true across all branches of our armed forces:

Navy: "The fact that someone is gay or lesbian doesn't really enter into a disruption to the mission. The same standards—the same regulations and standards of conduct will apply. ...It's not as if we're having to create new policies." Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations, U.S. Navy

Marines: “I’m looking for issues that might arise specifically coming out of the … training, and to be honest with you, chairman, we’ve not seen it. There’s questions about billeting for Marines—I mean, the kinds of questions you would expect—but there hasn’t been the recalcitrant pushback, there’s not been the anxiety over it from the forces in the field.” General James F. Amos, Commandant, U.S. Marine Corps

Air Force: “We will rely on steady leadership at all levels to implement this change in a manner that is consistent with standards of military readiness and effectiveness, with minimal adverse effect on unit cohesion, recruiting and retention in the Air Force.” General Norton A. Schwartz, Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force

Army: “I had a session with commanders last Friday, they have indicated no issues so far in Tier I and Tier II training as they get ready to kick off our Tier III training.” General Peter W. Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Army

DADT repeal never threatened our military’s effectiveness
While the Pentagon has rightly implemented a careful training regimen to prepare troops for repeal, experts have always stated that open service would not threaten military readiness or effectiveness. And a prerepeal survey indicated that our servicemembers would handle open service professionally and responsibly, and that many already knew they were serving with gay men and women.

The survey, which General Carter Ham called “the most comprehensive assessment of a personnel policy matter that the Department of Defense has conducted,” was sent to more than 400,000 troops and their spouses. It asked troops and their spouses what they thought of open service and how DADT repeal might impact the armed forces. The results were clear. Sixty-nine percent of troops said they were already working in a unit with someone they believed to be gay or lesbian. Moreover, an astounding 92 percent of those individuals believed their unit’s “ability to work together” was either “very good,” “good,” or “neither good nor poor.” This includes 89 percent of those in Army combat arms units and 84 percent of those in Marine combat arms units.

Even in countries where troops expressed outright opposition to open service, repealing bans on gay and lesbian troops was a nonevent. In the United Kingdom, for example, prerepeal surveys indicated significant resistance to repeal compared to the survey results found in the Pentagon Working Group report. But repeal occurred with no disruption to military effectiveness or unit cohesion. Moreover, these countries implemented repeal without the comprehensive training and careful implementation steps currently underway within the U.S. military.

Our senior military leaders should swiftly certify repeal of DADT
Both Gates and Mullen have long advocated for DADT’s repeal. They recognize that the policy wastes hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars annually, undermines our national security, and is an unfair and unworkable policy that asks troops to lie about who they are. Both men, however, are set to retire in the next several months.

Secretary Gates is set to retire later this month. Chairman Mullen is likely to retire sometime in the fall of 2011. Our senior military leaders should leave their posts having finished what they started by certifying DADT repeal.

Not certifying repeal before their retirements would likely delay the final steps of ending the military’s ban on openly gay servicemembers. Conservative lawmakers are determined to delay and derail DADT’s demise, and the longer our military leaders wait to certify, the more likely it is that these tactics will succeed. Politics will trump policy, which will deny brave men and women the ability to serve their country with honesty and integrity.

We are now closer than ever to allowing gay men and women to serve openly in the armed forces. Once repeal is complete, the United States will join the ranks of 35 of our foreign allies that permit gay men and women to serve openly in uniform, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, and Israel. Secretary Gates, Chairman Mullen, and President Obama have worked tirelessly to repeal the military’s ban on openly gay troops. The time has come for them to complete their work. We urge them to accelerate the implementation process underway and thereby expeditiously certify repeal.

Crosby Burns is the Special Assistant for the LGBT Research and Communications Project at American Progress.

New Reports available online

The National Coalition for LGBT Health has published a new report on Federal government response to Homeless LGBTIQ Youth,

New LGBT-Inclusive Federal Guidelines on Multiple Chronic Conditions Earlier this week, the Department of Health and Human Services issued its new Strategic Framework on Multiple Chronic Conditions, “an innovative private-public sector collaboration to coordinate responses to a growing challenge.”  According to the report, “More than one in four Americans have multiple (two or more) concurrent chronic conditions (MCC), including, for example, arthritis, asthma, chronic respiratory conditions, diabetes, heart disease, human immunodeficiency virus infection, and hypertension.”  In response to comments submitted by the National Coalition and several of its partners on the draft framework, the final version includes recognition of HIV as a chronic condition and notes, “It is likely that as racial and ethnic, gender, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation, age, geographic, and socioeconomic disparities of access to care and health outcomes exist in the total population, those disparities also exist in the MCC population.” For a link to the report and supporting information, please see http://www.hhs.gov/ash/initiatives/mcc/

Center for American Progress Releases New Reports on Mental Health Services for LGBT Youth
The Center for American Progress, with the support of the National Coalition for LGBT Health, has released new fact sheets on mental health services for LGBT youth. The two fact sheets, “Providing a Lifeline for LGBT Youth: Mental Health Services and the Age of Consent” and “How to Improve Mental Health Care for LGBT Youth: Recommendations for the Department of Health and Human Services,” detail the obstacles LGBT youth face in accessing appropriate mental health services and offer recommendations for advocates working to connect LGBT youth with vital mental health resources. The fact sheets can be found on the website.