The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), or Public Act 453 of 1976, which went into effect in 1977, originally prohibited discrimination in Michigan only on the basis of "religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status" in employment, housing, education, and access to public accommodations.
[2] A ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court on July 28, 2022 expanded the scope of the law to explicitly include protections for LGBT people.
[3] Sexual orientation and gender identity were both formally codified and added to Michigan legislation officially on March 16, 2023 and became Act 6 of 2023.
The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act was passed in 1976,[5] signed into law by Michigan Governor William Milliken on January 13, 1977,[6] and went into effect on March 31, 1977.
[6] In the years following Bolden v. Grand Rapids Operating Corporation, Michigan passed additional civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations, housing, and employment.
Larsen served on the Michigan House of Representatives civil rights committee that would hold hearings and vote on the proposed legislation.
[2] As early as the 1973 committee hearing on the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, members of the LGBT community in Michigan sought to be included in the law.
Michigan's first openly LGBTQ state legislator, Chris Kolb, included such a change in two other pro-LGBT bills[11]—none of which passed.
[17] Although Democrats have introduced legislation amending ELCRA for many consecutive years, the last time there was significant movement — even so much as a hearing — on any bill was 2014.
In 2009, Governor Jennifer Granholm signed Public Act 190 of 2009, an amendment that increased employment protections for pregnant workers.