North Carolina’s Terrible Anti-LGBT Law Is Even Worse than We Thought

The problem goes way beyond bathrooms.

By Nina Martin, ProPublica

When North Carolina lawmakers passed what is widely viewed as the most sweeping anti-LGBT law in the country, supporters said it was needed to fend off a potential wave of local laws like the transgender-friendly bathroom ordinance adopted by the city of Charlotte. Opponents have called the new law a "hostile takeover of human rights."

But all the attention on who can use toilets and locker rooms has overshadowed what employment rights advocates say is an even more expansive change made by the law—one that could affect all workers in North Carolina, not just those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

As has been widely reported, the North Carolina legislature rushed last month to pass HB 2, the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, which requires transgender people (and everyone else) to use public restrooms according to the biological sex on their birth certificate. It also bars local governments from passing ordinances like Charlotte’s.