Is LGBT Discrimination A Real Problem? Virginia Doesn't Seem To Think So

In the previous post's accompanying article VA Governor McDonnell Is Blind To Transgender, Bisexual, Lesbian and Gay Discrimination, McDonnell is quoted as saying “I don’t know that we need it based on the numbers that I’ve seen,” and when asked if he would sign a bill with LGBT protections. “There really isn’t any rampant discrimination on any basis in Virginia,” he said. “If you’re going to have a law, it needs to actually address a real problem.” Hmmm, real problem? I have to wonder what McDonnell thinks is a "real" problem. Obviously, discrimination is just not important to him or for those who voted for him.  It looks like the folks in Colorado (see article) and the EEOC see a "real" problem and are doing something about it. McDonnell should wake up and smell the roses. There is a wealth of talent being driven away from Virginia during a time when Virginia needs all the talent it can get. McDonnell's administration is attempting to attract new and dynamic twenty-first century industry to Virginia. The giant global security company Northrop Grumman is rumored to be considering moving its headquarters to Virginia. Has anyone in the McDonnell administration read Northrop Grummon's position on diversity? The Commonwealth might learn something. I guarantee you the folks at Northrop Grummon are scratching their heads about moving their headquarters to backward thinking Virginia. Workplace bias complaints soar in Colorado region By Miles Moffeit The Denver Post POSTED: 03/28/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT Complaints of discrimination in the workplace have climbed more than 50 percent in the Colorado region in the past year, starkly outpacing national trends, records show. Numbers disclosed by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Colorado Civil Rights Commission show big jumps in almost every category of discrimination complaint, particularly in retaliatory actions and bias cases involving minorities and older workers. Pegging a cause is difficult. Some say it's fueled by the recession. A new state analysis suggests it could be an increase in the minority population. Others say it's new state laws offering protections for sexual orientation and transgender status. One set of federal figures shows the state's workplace-bias complaints are nearly triple the national rate of five years ago. Civil-rights attorneys attribute part of the surge to the recession, igniting office tensions and reckless decisions. "I've been doing this long enough that I've seen the patterns" during economic slumps, said Diane King, a 23-year Denver civil-rights attorney who says her law firm's caseload of age and minority discrimination complaints has soared 20 percent since the recession hit. "When times get tough, the first to go are the older workers," she said. "Also on the hit list for some employers are minorities and pregnant women." A report recently released by the Colorado Civil Rights Division and its commission points to other possible factors such as a surge in the state's minority population, which has grown 60 percent faster than whites. Additionally, in the past two years the state has added legal protections for sexual orientation and transgender status. Those safeguards do not exist in federal law. Civil Rights Division Director Steven Chavez and Barbara Kelley, director of the Department of Regulatory Agencies, which oversees the division, have refused interview requests from The Denver Post for this story. Business leaders acknowledge the economy can be an insidious culprit behind the complaints. "When the economy is bad, more people are out of work and if people perceive their termination from employment as unfair, it's only a small leap to unlawful," said Dean Harris, attorney for the Mountain States Employers Council Inc. Among the cases highlighted in the state report: A lesbian whose bosses urged her to remove a picture of her family from her desk, calling it an "inappropriate expression of sexual orientation"; an experienced older waitress who was terminated at the same time her managers were advertising for younger waitresses. The report noted an increase in complaints from women alleging they were fired for being pregnant though their job performance did not suffer. "I get tons of calls from employers who say, 'Do I have to keep her?' There's often a spike in retaliation cases after the women file (the first) complaints," said Patricia McMahon, program analyst for the EEOC Denver field office. Miles Moffeit: 303-954-1415 or mmoffeit@denverpost.com ORIGINAL ARTICLE PRESS RELEASE 3-11-09 EEOC REPORTS JOB BIAS CHARGES HIT RECORD HIGH OF OVER 95,000 IN FISCAL YEAR 2008 Commission Obtains $376 Million for Victims of Discrimination WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced that workplace discrimination charge filings with the federal agency nationwide soared to an unprecedented level of 95,402 during Fiscal Year (FY) 2008, which ended Sept. 30. This level is a 15 percent increase from the previous fiscal year. The FY 2008 enforcement and litigation statistics, which include trend data, are available online at http://www.eeoc.gov/stats/enforcement.html. “The EEOC has not seen an increase of this magnitude in charges filed for many years. While we do not know if it signifies a trend, it is clear that employment discrimination remains a persistent problem,” said the Commission’s Acting Chairman, Stuart J. Ishimaru. “The EEOC is committed to vigorously enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination and will continue to invest in programs such as its systemic litigation program to maximize its effectiveness.” According to the FY 2008 data, all major categories of charge filings in the private sector (which includes charges filed against state and local governments) increased. Charges based on age and retaliation saw the largest annual increases, while allegations based on race, sex and retaliation continued as the most frequently filed charges. The surge in charge filings may be due to multiple factors, including economic conditions, increased diversity and demographic shifts in the labor force, employees’ greater awareness of the law, EEOC’s focus on systemic litigation, and changes to EEOC’s intake practices. The FY 2008 data also show that the EEOC filed 290 lawsuits, resolved 339 lawsuits, and resolved 81,081 private sector charges. Through its combined enforcement, mediation and litigation programs, the EEOC recovered approximately $376 million in monetary relief for thousands of discrimination victims and obtained significant remedial relief from employers to promote inclusive and discrimination-free workplaces. The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the Commission is available on its web site (www.eeoc.gov).

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