Michigan Legislature amends ELCRA to include LGBTQIA+ protections

On March 16, 2023, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill that expands the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) to include protections for LGBTQIA+ individuals.

ELCRA amendments

Originally enacted in 1977, ELCRA currently prohibits employment discrimination based religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, and marital status. The bill amends this list of enumerated protected classes to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression.”

The bill defines “gender identity or expression” as “having or being perceived as having a gender-related self-identity or expression whether or not associated with an individual’s assigned sex at birth.”

“Sexual orientation” is defined as “having an orientation for heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality or having a history of such an orientation or being identified with such an orientation.”

Practical effect

Sexual orientation and gender identity have been protected under federal law since 2020, when the U.S. Supreme Court held that firing individuals because of their sexual orientation or transgender status violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s prohibition on discrimination “because of sex.”