Massachusetts
Massachusetts
Relationships
YES
Does the state allow same-sex couples to marry?
YES
Does the state recognize marriages of same-sex couples from other jurisdictions?
Workplace
YES
Does state law protect employees in the private sector from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation?
YES
Does state law protect employees in the private sector from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and/or gender expression?
YES
Does state law expressly protect employees of state and local governments from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation?
YES
Does state law expressly protect employees of state and local governments from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and/or gender expression?
All government employees are protected by the U.S. Constitution against irrational discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition, some measure of protection already exists under Title VII based on gender, which has been held to include gender identity and expression.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and several courts have interpreted Title VII to protect transgender employees, and the EEOC has interpreted Title VII to cover sexual orientation discrimination. The Supreme Court has held that the EEOC's interpretations of Title VII are entitled to "great deference."
Parenting
Who may adopt?
Any "person of full age."
Second-parent adoptions:
Approved. See Mass. Gen. L. ch. 210, §1; Adoption of Tammy, 619 N.E.2d 315 (Mass. 1993).
