Discrimination against LGBT employees of the US government, on all levels, is proving costly to the taxpayer, a new study claims.

Titled, Gay and Transgender Discrimination in the Public Sector, the report says there are around a million LGBT employees working in state, local or municipal government, and that many fear that they will be overlooked for promotion, not be hired at all, or even that they will be sacked, for being gay.

Produced by AFSCME, a public services union, and the Center for American Progress, a nonpartisan research institute, the report starts by saying that discrimination is unfair to LGBT people and has a negative financial effect: