(Updated from 03/22/2021)
When I am teaching continuing education courses, this is a question I get a lot. It comes in light of the Bostock v. Clayton County case that was decided by the US Supreme Court last year and that extended sex discrimination protections to LGBTQ workers.
Can Employers Have Religious Objections to Hiring LGBTQ Workers? First, I’ll give the attorney answer: It depends.
Also, because I’m an attorney, I have to give my disclaimer that I’m not going to give you legal advice in this particular video. I only give legal advice to clients who retain me and when we have that kind of engagement. I encourage you, if you’re concerned about this topic, to consult an attorney.
Now, I invite you to explore three considerations:
I’m going to give you three considerations that I invite you to explore in the context of any religious objections you might have to hiring LGBTQ workers.
- What are your sincerely held religious beliefs regarding LGBTQ people? You want to be very specific because the second consideration is…
- Where did you get those sincerely held religious beliefs? You’re going to have to have evidence that they’re sincerely held and religious in nature. And it’s okay, if you did explore this and discover that maybe you’re not sure. This is why I want you to take a look at it.
- You want to consider what your goal is in asserting this objection. What’s the ideal outcome? Depending on what your religious beliefs are, you might ask, what would your savior, your God, or your religious leader do in a similar situation? This is probably how a lot of these cases going forward are going to be analyzed.
My Third Ear Conflict Resolution process can help you walk through some of this, because it has Seven Choices that we make in the beginning to help you get connected to your response to the situation—before you start engaging with other people about it. Then, you can start taking action.
If you need more one-on-one interaction and coaching around this, I still offer my free 30-minute breakthrough calls. In the meantime, keep listening with your third ear for the hurts you can heal.
Still struggling to manage LGBTQIAA+ workers?
Frequently-Asked Questions About Employee Protection Agencies