Title Vii of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination against an individual in the workplace based on gender identity or sexual orientation. Title VII protects people who work for employers with at least 15 employees.In addition, sexual orientation discrimination is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The employee must show that they belong to a protected class, this would mean they identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual, or queer. This means that it is illegal for an employer to fire, fail to hire, or discriminate in any way against an employee because of his or her sexual orientation. Simply put, no, they cannot. Inquiries about an employee's sexual orientation or gender identity are inappropriate and potentially discriminatory. Title VII prohibits harassment and other forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. California now requires employers to take transgender identity and expression into consideration. Participation in a training or apprenticeship program, employee organization or union.