Sexual Orientation Discrimination at Work: What Massachusetts Employees Should Know

Massachusetts has been out in front on this issue for decades. In 1989, it became just the second state in the country — after Wisconsin — to ban sexual orientation discrimination in both public and private employment. More than 35 years later, that head start still shapes how strongly Massachusetts law protects employees from sexual orientation discrimination compared to many other states. If you believe you’ve faced discrimination at work because of who you are or who you love, here’s what the law actually covers — and what to do next.

Legal Protections for Employees in Massachusetts

Massachusetts employees have two overlapping layers of protection, and understanding both matters.

Massachusetts Chapter 151B

The state’s Fair Employment Practices Act explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in hiring, firing, pay, promotions, and every other term of employment, at companies with six or more employees. This has been settled state law since 1989 — well before most of the country caught up.

Federal Title VII After Bostock v. Clayton County

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act doesn’t mention sexual orientation by name. For years that left a gap for workers outside protective states. That changed with the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which held that discriminating against an employee for being gay, lesbian, or bisexual is a form of sex discrimination — and therefore illegal under Title VII nationwide.

What’s Covered Under Each

In practice, this means Massachusetts employees now have both a state and a federal claim available, which can matter for deadlines, available damages, and where a case gets filed. Learn more about how these protections apply broadly on our employment discrimination page.

What Sexual Orientation Discrimination Looks Like in Practice

Sexual orientation discrimination rarely announces itself outright. More often, it shows up in a few recurring forms.

Hiring Bias

Being passed over for a role after an interviewer learns your orientation, or after a same-sex partner is mentioned.

Unequal Treatment or Denial of Benefits

Being denied spousal health insurance, bereavement leave, or other benefits routinely extended to opposite-sex spouses.

Harassment

Slurs, “jokes,” exclusion from team activities, or a supervisor who makes your orientation a running topic of conversation.

Retaliation for Coming Out or Being Outed

Demotion, schedule changes, or termination shortly after you disclose your orientation, or after a coworker outs you without your consent.

Any of these, especially when they follow a pattern, can support a legal claim under Chapter 151B, Title VII, or both.

Sexual Orientation vs. Gender Identity: Know the Difference

These two issues get lumped together constantly, but they’re legally distinct.

Two Distinct (and Often Conflated) Protections

Sexual orientation discrimination involves who an employee is attracted to. Gender identity discrimination involves an employee’s internal sense of their own gender, which may or may not match the sex they were assigned at birth. Massachusetts protects both — but they can raise different facts, different evidence, and sometimes different legal theories.

Reporting, Damages & Next Steps

If you believe you’ve experienced sexual orientation discrimination, timing matters.

The MCAD and EEOC Filing Process

Claims under Chapter 151B generally must be filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination within 300 days of the discriminatory act. Federal Title VII claims follow a similar filing window, and in Massachusetts, a single filing can often be cross-filed with both agencies. Missing the deadline can permanently bar your claim, so don’t wait to gather documentation before reaching out to an attorney.

Damages Available

Employees who prove sexual orientation discrimination may be entitled to back pay, front pay, emotional distress damages, and in some cases punitive damages — as well as attorney’s fees. The specifics depend heavily on the facts of your case and which law applies.

How Gordon Law Group Can Help

Discrimination based on sexual orientation is illegal in Massachusetts — but proving it, filing it correctly, and meeting strict deadlines takes experience. Our attorneys have spent decades representing employees facing sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination across Massachusetts, from entry-level workers to executives.