Winston-Salem to protect gay workers

The city of Winston-Salem is the latest municipality to protect its gay and lesbian employees from discrimination. City Council has approved amendments to City Personnel Policies adding the term "sexual orientation" to a list of characteristics for which city employees will not be discriminated against. Winston-Salem joins Orange, Durham, Guilford, and Mecklenburg County, as well as the municipalities of Bessemer City, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Durham, Greensboro, and Raleigh, in a growing list of county, city and town governments in North Carolina protecting employees on the basis of sexual orientation. "We think it is of absolute importance that all citizens are treated equally and fairly in employment," said Matt Comer, Executive Director of the North Carolina Advocacy Coalition. "We know for a fact that gay and lesbian employees face above average discrimination in employment and they are not protected by any state statute." A study released last month by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law found that 15 to 43 percent of lesbian, gay, or bisexual people surveyed since the mid-1990s reported experiencing employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. The revisions to the Winston-Salem Personnel Policies, however, does not include transsexuals and gender expression or identity. Comer said the North Carolina Advocacy Coalition will continue to press for trans people to included in the policies. Only two areas in the state -- Carrboro and Chapel Hill -- have policies inclusive of gender identity or expression. The Williams Institute study found that trans individuals experience similar levels of discrimination as gay men and lesbians.