Public Policy & Legislation
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) prohibits workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, a protection currently denied to bisexual, gay, lesbian, and/or transgender people.
ENDA (H.R. 2015) will be up for a House vote at the end of September. It has gained momentous support in the past few years and will likely pass and move on to the Senate. However, continued support is still needed, especially from the liberal religious community. Most of the attacks on ENDA are coming from conservative religious voices. Speaking out as a religious voice in favor of workplace equality will help to balance and possibly overcome the religious opposition.
Background
ENDA was first introduced in
Congress in 1994, and gained momentum over the next few years. In 1996, it was
misrepresented as "special privileges" by those who opposed its passage and it
failed in the Senate by one vote (49-50) on September 10, 1996. ENDA was
introduced again in 1997, 1999, and 2002 but failed to gain enough support in
Congress to be debated or passed. While the legislation may have died under
different Congresses, the need and vast support for the legislation obviously
has not waned. ENDA has been reintroduced in slightly modified forms since then.
What ENDA Does
- Extends federal employment discrimination protections currently provided based on race, religion, sex, national origin, age and disability to sexual orientation and gender identity. ENDA extends fair employment practices—not special rights—to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, heterosexuals, transgenders and/or people who do not fit perceived norms of gender expression.
- Prohibits public and private employers, employment agencies, and labor unions from using an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity as the basis for employment decisions, such as hiring, firing, promotion, or compensation.
- Provides for the same procedures, and similar, but somewhat more limited, remedies as are permitted under Tide VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
- Applies to Congressional and Presidential employees.
What ENDA Does Not Do
- Apply to religious organizations
- Apply to the armed forces
- Apply retroactively
- Cover small businesses with less than 15 employees
- Allow for the imposition of quotas or preferential treatment for bisexual, gay, lesbian and/or transgender people.
Support for Federal Legislation is Strong
study,
89% of Americans believe gay people should have equal job opportunities. In a
2004 Hart Research poll, 65% of those surveyed believe it should definitely be
illegal to fire someone because he or she is transgender.
Corporate America opposes discrimination and has enacted policies protecting their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees. As of March 2007, nearly 90% (433) of Fortune 500 corporations included “sexual orientation” in their non-discrimination policies, compared to just 6 in 1990. As of March 2007, a quarter (124) of the Fortune 500 corporations included “gender identity” in their non-discrimination policies, compared to just 3 in 2000. Over 7.5 million employees work for FORTUNE 500 companies that prohibit both sexual orientation- and gender identity-based discrimination.
ENDA has support from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), numerous religious organizations, women's groups, labor unions and advocacy organizations, among others.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
