There are currently 33 states that do not have legislation protecting LGBTQ employees from discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
—
On Thursday, a Senate Democratic leadership aid told the Huffington Post that the Senate could possibly vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) as early as September. The aid said, “It’s on the list of possible things for consideration in September. No firm timing on it yet, but it’s one of the things that’s possible.”
According to the HuffPost:
The bill, which would ban workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, cleared the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions in July. All Democrats on the committee voted for it, along with three Republicans … The House Judiciary Committee has yet to hold a hearing on the bill.
ENDA has been introduced in several congressional sessions and has gotten some hearings, but hasn’t had a vote on the House or Senate floor since November 2007, when it passed the House, 235-184. The bill was introduced in this Congress by Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) in the House and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) in the Senate.
Federal non-discrimination laws currently protect employees from being discriminated against based on their “race, religion, sex, national origin, age and disability,” they do not however protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. There are currently 33 states in the US that do not “explicitly have such a ban,” which means people can be harassed, denied a promotion and even fired simply for their sexual orientation or gender identity.