This article was reported by NJ Urban News, a nonprofit publishing partner of NJ Spotlight.
As federal policy changes undo strides made by LGBTQ+ Americans, New Jersey advocates during Pride Month are urging workers to learn about protections against discrimination, retaliation, wage theft and economic inequality.
The call comes as LGBTQ+ workers face significant disparities nationwide. Such employees earn about 90 cents for every dollar earned by non-LGBTQ+ employees. LGBTQ+ people of color and transgender and non-binary individuals face even wider wage gaps, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
More than 50% of LGBTQ+ employees reported experienced stigma or bias in the workplace in the wake of corporate rollbacks of diversity, equity and inclusion policies, the Human Rights Campaign found in a 2025 survey.
At the same time, Executive Order 14168 — signed by President Donald Trump in 2025 on the first day of his second term — directed agencies to recognize the biological sexes, male and female, and reject gender identity. The federal government also rescinded the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s 200-page guide on civil-rights laws and workplace harassment claims.
The changes have prompted some to avoid pursuing jobs or leave their workplaces because they feared discrimination, according to Brielle Winslow-Majette, executive director of Garden State Equality.
“We want to make sure that our workers are not being discriminated against — one, based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, but two, that they’re being seen as valuable members of that workspace and being paid for their labor and time,” Winslow-Majette said.
NJ’s own approach
Whatever the new federal policies, New Jersey has steadfast protections. Its Law Against Discrimination prohibits workplace discrimination and harassment based on sex, gender identity, sexual orientation and gender expression. Workers also have safeguards if they must stop working temporarily.
Employers are prohibited from retaliating against workers by firing, reducing pay, increasing supervision or excluding them from meetings and other functions. Under the Wage Theft Act, employers can be held liable for unpaid wages or benefits, and employees are protected from retaliation for speaking out against violations.
Workers should keep records of their hours, according to Machuca-Perera, a workplace rights specialist who has handled wage-theft cases for Centro Comunitario CEUS, a North Bergen-based nonprofit group that assists Hispanic immigrants.
“We do like to encourage anyone that is suffering through an injustice to step forward and be able to report these [types] of things going on in their workplace,” Machuca-Perera said.
‘Chosen family’
LGBTQ+ workers may qualify for temporary disability to address HIV complications or to recover from gender-affirming surgery.
Family leave, meanwhile, can be used to care for a partner or a family member who is seriously ill or undergoing medical treatment. Under state law, temporary disability and family leave entitle workers to 85% of average pay for as long as 12 weeks.
In 2019, New Jersey became the first state to extend family leave to legally recognized “chosen family” members, or those non-related individuals who provide support.
“We need to make sure that we are protecting all of these individuals through all of the facets of their life because elected officials say that they want us to thrive,” said Winslow-Majette. “But thriving means that there shouldn’t be discrimination in any of that, whether that’s housing, whether that’s pay and work, whether that’s food disparity.”
