House Passes Employment Nondiscrimination Act
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, a civil rights measure that will extend protection against workplace discrimination to gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals, by a vote of 235-194, the New York Times reported. The legislation makes it illegal for an employer
to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to the compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment of the individual, because of such individual’s actual or perceived sexual orientation.
Various versions of the legislation have been proposed since 1974, and Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) said they will introduce similar legislation in the Senate. Although the White House threatened to veto an earlier version of the bill, it has not publicly stated its position regarding the legislation.
The final version of the legislation does not bar discrimination based upon gender identity, and carves out a blanket exemption for religious groups.
Kate Kendell, Executive Director of the National Center for Gay and Lesbian Rights, wrote a guest blog entry on ENDA. ACS also released an Issue Brief by Katie Eyer on protecting LGBT workers in the absence of clear statutory protections.