For the first time in Michigan, people who are discriminated against for being gay or transgender can now file complaints with the Michigan Civil Rights Commission.
The Commission says the state's Elliott-Larson Civil Rights Act protects people on the basis of sex - and that includes sexual orientation and gender identity.
The Michigan Civil Rights Commission says the state's Elliott Larson Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, among other categories, and sex includes sexual orientation and gender identity. Stephanie White is Executive Director of Equality Michigan. She says the decision sends an important signal.
Michigan is not a place that is going to tolerate this kind of discrimination any more.
Stephanie White is executive director of Equality Michigan.
White says there are many examples of discrimination that can come before the Commission now. Those include getting fired, or not being hired, because your spouse is the same sex, or being refused an apartment becuase the landlord thinks you are gay.