Federal Protections Aren't Enough, but Elliot-Larson Could Be

For those who are attempting to spin EEOC action into an excuse not to include transgender Michiganders in the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, let's get a few facts straight:

1) Federal law applies to employers with 15 employees or more. Elliott-Larsen applies to employers with 1 employees or more. Even assuming the EEOC action is successful, it won't protect employees in small firms. Amending Elliott-Larsen will.

2) The EEOC action pertains to employment discrimination only. It does nothing to address discrimination in housing or pubic accommodations. Elliott-Larsen covers all three.

3) Including gender identity in Elliott-Larsen would clearly and explicitly establish the rights of transgender Michiganders. Relying on the EEOC's analysis would require individual transgender Michiganders to resolve the remaining ambiguity through a court action. In short, relying on the EEOC's interpretation of federal law would create a two-tier system for enforcing civil rights.

Let's stop trying to make excuses for leaving transgender Michiganders behind and just do the right thing by adding gender identity to Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.

Read the full article, originally published on September 25, 2014 in MLive, here.

#elliotlarsen #lgbt #nondiscrimination