What is marital status discrimination?

As its name suggests, marital status discrimination is workplace discrimination based on an employee’s marital status. It can occur whether you are married or single.

The unlawful discrimination arises when an employer makes employment decisions based on this status. Conduct may include the denial of employment, employment opportunities or promotions, harassment, unequal pay and/or other negative actions.

While many states have made marital status discrimination unlawful, there is no federal law that protects against discrimination based on marital status. However, conduct that might otherwise constitute marital status discrimination may still violate Title VII—a federal law that prohibits workplace discrimination.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on color, national origin, race, religion, and sex. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces Title VII and the Equal Pay Act, which prohibits unequal pay based on sex. While these federal laws do not specifically protect against marital discrimination, they may still protect against misconduct related to marital status since marital status discrimination is commonly considered discrimination based on sex.

Civil unions (or domestic partnerships) provide greater legal protection in the event of a relationship breakdown or death than the legal protection given to cohabiting couples.

At the start of 2020, civil partnerships became possible for heterosexual as well as same-sex couples.

This website offers more information on the variation in state laws covering civil partnerships.