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Did you know that U.S. citizens who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender (LGBT) DO NOT have explicitly defined federal statutory rights protecting them against employment discrimination in the private sector?
In other words, current federal law is technically murky and open to judicial review on the key question of whether any business with 15 employees or more can legally fire, refuse to hire, demote, harass or otherwise discriminate against employees or applicants merely because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. That is, without running afoul of current federal law prohibiting employment discrimination, most notably the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
However, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s groundbreaking ruling to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, now is the time to seize and build upon the momentum by pushing for the swift Congressional enactment of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA — which would provide explicit anti-discrimination protections for LGBT individuals in the Civilian Labor Force. Every citizen deserves the opportunity to live out the American Dream without discriminatory barriers.
The Fortune 500
Most savvy Fortune 500 companies have already implemented internal policies outlawing discrimination against the LGBT community. But that’s simply not enough. There also needs to be a specific federal law on the books to ensure blanket compliance across the entirety of the private sector workplace. Here’s the good news…
According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a leading national civil rights organization for the LGBT community:
88 percent of Fortune 500 companies have implemented sexual orientation non-discrimination policies, while 57 percent have policies that include gender identity.
It should also be noted that some state and local governments have passed a patchwork of laws similar to ENDA which are applicable within those specific jurisdictions.
Yet the bad news is that questions linger about whether it’s technically legal for employers to discriminate against LGBT individuals in private industry under existing federal law — which, again, does not explicitly contain the terms “sexual orientation” or “gender identity” — which is open to different legal interpretations.
Put simply, this is an outrage in the 21st-century modern workplace, which represents a microcosm of an increasingly diverse multicultural society. Moreover, as the saying goes, even one case of discrimination is one too many!
As HRC observes:
There is no federal law that consistently protects LGBT individuals from employment discrimination; there are no state laws in 29 states that explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, and in 32 states that do so based on gender identity.
That’s why Corporate America should issue a “Call to Action” and help lead the campaign in supporting passage of ENDA in Congress. Large companies should do this not only because it makes good business sense, but also because of social justice, morality and equality for all Americans.
Seize the Day (Carpe Diem)
Therefore, it is incumbent on the President and Congress to seize this moment in history and finally enact ENDA. There’s simply no time to waste. One guiding principle in this proactive push should center on “the fierce urgency of now,” for which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. often spoke about.
National civil rights organizations and other proponents of equal rights for the LGBT community need to re-double their efforts at the grassroots level now to make sure Congress acts on ENDA by the end of this year or sooner. The glaring failure to pass this common-sense civil rights bill has been a gross injustice for too long.
America’s democratic and constitutional principles are based on equal opportunity and equal justice for ALL citizens.”
As HRC says: “A strong ENDA is worth fighting for because we cannot ignore the urgent need of countless LGBT people who do not have the luxury of waiting for these protections.” HRC also makes three points which speak volumes about the cultural shift in American society:
- “The public overwhelmingly supports these workplace protections.”
- “In fact, 8 out of 10 people mistakenly believe that this is already law.”
- “Nearly 70 percent of Americans – including 56 percent of Republicans – support ENDA,” according to a national survey by a prominent Republican pollster.
Demand a Date Certain
It may also be helpful for President Obama to demand a specific date by which Congress should do the right thing and pass ENDA. It’s already been lapsing on Capitol Hill for two decades! Yes, Mr. President, it’s time to throw down the gauntlet, as they say. Even if the GOP Congress refuses to bring ENDA to a floor vote, Democrats could capitalize on it as a potent political issue in their campaigns for 2016.
Signing ENDA into law would be a major achievement for President Obama, who helped enact The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act early on during his first term.
In short, it’s simply shameful that ENDA – along with prior bills — has been voted down by Congress for over 20 years. Further, adding the pre-ENDA bills makes that over 40 long years of waiting, or nearly a half century.
This unfortunate string of failures came despite the persistent and aggressive efforts of the powerful senior Senator from Massachusetts, the late Ted Kennedy, and other supporters. Sen. Kennedy was fondly known as “The Lion of the Senate” due to his significant influence, bipartisan legislative achievements, and championing of civil rights and human rights. In fact, during Ted Kennedy’s time in the Senate, ENDA came within a single vote of passage one year.
Painful History
As noted, ENDA has had a long and painful history of rejection by the full Congress. According to Wikipedia:
- “ENDA has been introduced in every Congress since 1994 except the 109th. Similar legislation has been introduced without passage since 1974.”
- “In 1994, Barry Goldwater, a hero among the conservative and libertarian movements, became honorary chairman of a drive to pass a federal law preventing job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.”
- “The bill gained its best chance at passing after the Democratic Party gained the majority after twelve years of Republican majorities in the 2006 midterm elections.”
- “In 2007, gender identity protections were added to the legislation for the first time. Some sponsors believed that even with a Democratic majority, ENDA did not have enough votes to pass the House of Representatives with transgender inclusion and dropped it from the bill, which passed the House and then died in the Senate.”
- “President George W. Bush threatened to veto the measure.”
The Take-Away
While President Obama supports ENDA and is a self-proclaimed ally of the LGBT community, he should quickly follow up on the Supreme Court’s bold action in legalizing same-sex marriage by continuing the fight for ENDA.
It’s high time for the President to use the so-called “Bully Pulpit” by renewing the public campaign and rallying the country to enact ENDA — ASAP! It’s time to put an end, once and for all, to any job bias and bigotry against LGBT individuals in the workplace — not to mention every other place.
LGBT Americans deserve no less. Carpe diem!
DBG
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Previously published on Linkedin.com
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