Turnover Due to Workplace Discrimination Costs Employers $64 Billion Each Year / More Than One in Five LGBT Employees Have Experienced Workplace Discrimination / Casey Calls for Passage of ENDA to Ensure Equal Protection for All Americans
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), a member of the Joint Economic Committee, announced a new report outlining the economic consequences of anti-LGBT discrimination in the workplace. The report shows that more than one in five LGBT employees have experienced workplace discrimination, and that turnover due to various kinds of workplace discrimination costs employers $64 billion every year. Casey has called for swift passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would make it illegal for employers to base hiring and firing decisions on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
“This report shows that ENDA will help workers, employers and the economy overall,” said Senator Casey. “This legislation will ensure that employees are judged on their performance, rather than who they are. Workers should be judged on the quality of the job they do, nothing more, nothing less.”
The JEC report notes that people who are being discriminated against frequently get paid less money and are hired less often. In organizations where anti-LGBT discrimination exists, wage gaps can occur between some gay employees and their heterosexual counterparts.
Discrimination can also eat into a business’s bottom line, as hostile work environments due to discrimination impact office morale and productivity, while leading to increased employee turnover. The average cost of replacing a worker in the United States is $4,000.
The report also notes that many companies, including the majority of the top 50 Fortune 500 companies, have found that pro-diversity policies increase profitability and have enacted pro-diversity policies.
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