The Unseen Battle for LGBTQ+ Inclusion in India's Labour Laws: Legal Gaps and Policy Challenges

Abstract

The equality at the workplace is a critical part of the democratic labour regulation and non-discriminatory economic growth. Nevertheless, LGBTQ+ rights are legally safeguarded in progressive constitutionalism in India, but the existing labour law has limited these opportunities. This paper focuses on the structural voids in the Indian labour laws in relation to inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people in the workplace. Although the judicial rulings have recognised sexual orientation and gender identity to be part of dignity, equality and individual freedom, the constitutional advancements have not been convincingly integrated into labour law and practicable work-based safeguards. The study utilizes a qualitative doctrinal approach to law and comparative legal approach through the examination of constitutional articles, labour laws and landmark judicial case results in India and comparative legislation as the Equality Act 2010 in the United Kingdom, the United States Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, and the Canadian Human Rights Act. The results indicate that there is a significant loophole in the regulation of constitutional jurisprudence and labour law safeguards in India. The current labour laws lack direct discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 has poor enforcement mechanisms. The paper proposes inclusive anti-discrimination laws, amendment of labour laws, and increased institutional enforcement of such laws to guarantee substantive equality of LGBTQ+ individuals at work.