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For LGBTQ workers in these parts of Florida, being 'out' to employers can be risky | Rangel

Isadora Rangel
Florida Today

For eight years, Megan Miller was "in the closet" at work. She didn't display pictures of herself and her now-wife, Stephanie, in her office. She didn't bring Stephanie to work functions. When asked with whom she was going on vacation she responded, "With a friend."

Her company, Raymond James Financial, supports LGBTQ employees but Megan, 35, was afraid of her co-workers' reaction. A couple of years ago, she decided to "come out" by bringing up Stephanie's name in casual conversation and inviting her to events.

Now, she proudly displays a photo from their 2018 Key West wedding in her office in Viera. 

"Eventually, I couldn't live in the dark every day," Megan, a financial adviser, told me. "It was a good stress reliever."

Megan and Stephanie Miller of Rockledge got married in 2018 in Key West. Megan didn't tell her co-workers she was in a same-sex relationship for eight years.

Megan and Stephanie Miller, 36, an accountant who works for her family's business, are lucky that their employers support them. Others might not have the same luck. A theater teacher said she was forced out of Covenant Christian School in Palm Bay for being a lesbian, FLORIDA TODAY reported last week. 

State law protects employees from discrimination based on race, sex and religion but not sexual orientation or gender identity. More than 40 counties and municipalities have passed LGBTQ rights ordinances that cover 60% of Florida's population, according to Equality Florida. 

However, Megan and Stephanie live and work in Brevard County, where such protections don't exist. Other places without protections include the Treasure Coast, Collier and Lee counties and the Panhandle with the exception of Leon County and Tallahassee.

Megan and Stephanie are apprehensive about a pending U.S. Supreme Court ruling on three cases brought by gay and transgender employees who were fired because of who they are. The court heard arguments on the case this month and is expected to rule by June on whether the existing federal ban on sex discrimination also applies to discrimination based on sexual orientation and identity.

If the court sides with the employees in this ruling, that will be a hallmark for LGBTQ rights. But if the court sides with the employers that would be devastating for places like Brevard where there are no protections for people like Megan and Stephanie. Anti-discrimination ordinances in communities including Orlando, Volusia and Orange counties would remain in place. 

This patchwork of local rules must be replaced with a uniform policy that guarantees the LGBTQ community the basic right to thrive at work. 

If you agree, urge your state lawmaker to support the Competitive Workforce Act in the legislative session starting in January. That will guarantee that LGBTQ Floridians are protected regardless of the Supreme Court's decision and where in the state they live. The bill adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the 1992 Florida Civil Rights Act that prohibits discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.

Click here to find your local representatives and their contact information.

Versions of this bill have been introduced for the last decade without success. During the 2019 Florida legislative session, it was the third most co-sponsored legislation but state House and Senate leaders didn't bring it up for a vote, according to Equality Florida's Joe Saunders.

Next year's bill is sponsored in the House by Republican Rep. Jackie Toledo of Tampa and is supported by more than 450 businesses and corporations such as Walt Disney World. It has 43 Republican and Democratic co-sponsors, but none of them are from Brevard County so far. That's ironic when the Space Coast is trying to attract talent from across the nation to work at local companies such as L3 Harris Technologies and Northrop Grumman. Our lawmakers should be concerned about presenting Florida as a place inclusive to everyone who's got the skills we're looking for. Let's hope they throw their support behind this legislation.

Megan and Stephanie Miller of Rockledge got married in 2018 in Key West. Megan didn't tell her co-workers she was in a same-sex relationship for eight years.

Without a state or local law to protect them, if Megan and Stephanie found new jobs at companies that don't have their own anti-discrimination policies, they would have to decide whether to go back into the closet or risk losing their jobs. Not to mention Florida law does not protect the LGBTQ community from housing discrimination, so if they move from their Rockledge home into a new neighborhood they could be turned away.

"It's scary," Megan said. "I'm just shocked there are people out there who are OK with treating people differently."

Imagine having to base your career and personal choices on whether you will be treated differently because of who you are. That's a consideration that permeates many aspects of Stephanie and Megan's life. They avoid showing affection in public and asked their bridal shop whether it accepted same-sex couples before getting fitted for wedding dresses. When they were looking for a house they told their real estate agent they were a same-sex couple to make sure they wouldn't be discriminated against.

And the worst happened in 2016. The couple was out jogging in their old Cocoa neighborhood when a neighbor saw Megan and called her a derogatory term related to her sexual orientation. She stopped to engage with him and he grabbed her by the neck, she told Cocoa Police at the time. The neighbor pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery charges and was found guilty. He was sentenced to six months of probation, forced to take an anger management course and write Megan an apology letter, court records show.

Megan wasn't physically hurt but the incident was one of the reasons the couple moved to Rockledge. It's also a stark reminder that despite immense progress LGBTQ people still are the target of bigotry in the workplace and elsewhere. 

Isadora Rangel is FLORIDA TODAY's public affairs and engagement editor and a member of the Editorial Board. Her columns reflect her opinion. Readers may reach her at irangel@floridatoday.com, by phone at 321-242-3631 or via Facebook at /IsadoraRangel.