Senate Holds First Hearing on Inclusive ENDA THIS MORNING

Today the U.S. Senate will hold its first hearing ever on a fully-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).  The measure — in front of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee this morning at 10:00 am – would prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.  In 29 states it is still perfectly legal to fire someone based on his or her sexual orientation, and in 38 states it is still legal to fire someone for being transgender.  Watch the hearing webcast beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Witnesses include:

• Hon. Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice
• Helen Norton, Associate Professor of Law, University of Colorado School of Law
• Hon. Lisa Madigan, Attorney General, State of Illinois
• Virginia Nguyen, Diversity & Inclusion Team Member, Nike, Inc.
• Mike Carney, a police officer for the City of Springfield, Massachusetts who successfully sued for sexual orientation-based discrimination under Massachusetts law.

HRC is disappointed that there will be no transgender witnesses on the panel but we’ve made sure trans voices are heard through written testimony, including from HRC Board of Directors Member Meghan Stabler [pdf] and HRC Associate Director of Diversity Allyson Robinson [pdf].

Said HRC President Joe Solmonese who submitted written testimony on the bill [pdf]:

“We applaud the leadership of Senators Merkley and Collins in support of fairness and equality for all LGBT people and thank Chairman Harkin for holding this important hearing.  For the first time in history, the Senate is moving forward with legislation to protect Americans from arbitrary discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation and gender identity.  Like our neighbors and coworkers, LGBT people simply want a fair chance to succeed and support our families.”

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would address discrimination in the workplace by making it illegal to fire, refuse to hire or refuse to promote an employee based on the person’s sexual orientation or gender identity at companies with 15 or more employees.  The legislation was introduced in the U.S. Senate on August 5 of this year; a House version was introduced on June 24 and the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on the measure on September 23. 

An estimated 87% of Fortune 500 companies include sexual orientation in their equal employment policies, and more than one-third also include gender identity.  More than 80 companies have joined the Business Coalition for Workplace Fairness, a group of leading U.S. employers that support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.  To view a list of the companies, visit:  www.HRC.org/Workplace

ENDA is supported by a broad range of civil rights, religious, civic and professional organizations, including the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, NAACP, AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union, AFSCME, National Education Association, National Employment Lawyers Association, Anti-Defamation League, Religious Action Center, Unitiarian Universalist Association, United Church of Christ, American Civil Liberties Union, and many others.

Currently, federal law provides legal protection against employment discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, age and disability, but not sexual orientation or gender identity.