The Business of Equality
by Selisse Berry | Huffington Post
For some time now, corporate America has been making steady progress in treating gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in a fair and equitable way in the workplace. Courts continue to rule on the side of equality on issues ranging from marriage to military service. Enacting legislation that supports workplace fairness is viewed favorably by a majority of Americans, so one would think politicians would be on a parallel track. But as we have seen in the past year, that is definitely not the case.
So why is it that the road to passing the Federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would protect LGBT people in the workplace, has been anything but straightforward?
According to the 2010 Out & Equal Workplace Survey conducted by Harris Interactive® in conjunction with Out & Equal Workplace Advocates and Witeck-Combs Communications, over 70% of Americans surveyed believe that the standard for judging an employee should be how he or she does their job not their sexual orientation or gender identity. And yet, the legislation that would support such a standard faces continual obstacles in Congress.
In the face of those statistics many Americans are asking: what is the hold-up?
Selisse Berry is founding executive director of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, the nation’s only national nonprofit organization specifically dedicated to creating safe and equitable workplaces for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
Top Five Ways to Talk about ENDA this Fall!
With the mid-term elections rapidly approaching and campaigns – and candidate promises – in overdrive, it’s important for us to remind those candidates campaigning for seats in the House and Senate about their commitment to equality for all by asking tough questions about legislation like ENDA. Their answers – and, more importantly, their actions that follow the words — could provide meaningful solutions for millions of LGBT individuals and their families struggling to make ends meet in these tough economic times.
The passage of ENDA will benefit LGBT Americans by providing long-overdue workplace protections for LGBT employees. Shockingly, it is still legal to fire someone on the basis of their sexual orientation in 29 states and it is legal to fire someone on the basis of their gender identity in 38 states.
Passage of ENDA will deliver a federal remedy to outlaw these forms of discrimination and provide the long-overdue job security that so many LGBT individuals desperately need – today more than ever. It is finally time that people are judged on the merit of their work and accomplishments – not what people think about who they are.
Your voices have changed people’s minds already, but now we need your help again to make sure all Americans receive the help they need now to secure jobs, provide for their families, and rebound from the worst economic crisis this nation has experienced since the Great Depression.
That’s why we’re reaching out to you to take action today!
Top Five Ways to Talk about ENDA this Fall:
1. Schedule an in-district lobby meeting. It’s important to talk with your Members of Congress about the importance of ENDA and why it should be a priority for them to address this remedy to discrimination on the campaign trail.
2. Work for the political campaign of your choice. Find a candidate who you want to win and work for their campaign as an out LGBT person or ally. It is a great way to influence individual officeholders who are also candidates.
3. Attend a Candidate Forum. Be sure to attend a candidate forum and ask participants a question related to ENDA. Something as simple as, “Do you support equal opportunity for all people in the workplace – and do you support the passage of ENDA to ensure that this is the case for all Americans?,” will help you get a better sense as to where the candidates stand on issues most important to you.
4. Host a Candidate Forum. If your organization plans to host a candidate forum, be sure to include ENDA on the agenda. Ask each candidate about the legislation, their positions, and their thoughts on how they would help advance this legislation should they be elected in November.
5. Tell 3 People About ENDA. In the days leading up to the election, be sure to tell 3 people about the importance of ENDA, why the bill must remain trans-inclusive, and why it’s critical in these tough economic times. To learn more about ENDA, please click here or paste the following link into your web browser: http://www.transequality.org/PDFs/ENDA_Toolkit.pdf
6. Share this Alert with Your Friends and Family. While you talk with those most important to you about ENDA, be sure to share this action alert with them and encourage them to pass it along to people they care about to help spread the word today!
Tell Congress We Need ENDA Now!
It is outrageous that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people do not have a federal law protecting them from workplace discrimination. In most states it is completely legal to fire someone because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
We need everyone to take action now to tell Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and end discrimination in the workplace once and for all. Equality is on the line for millions of Americans.
Email your Representative and Senators today or call them at 202.224.3121. Tell them that they must act now and pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act! Equality should not have to wait.
We Need the Employment Non-Discrimination Act
Los Angeles Times editorial
The heated legal and political battle over Proposition 8 might suggest that marriage equality is the last barrier to full participation in society for gays and lesbians. In fact, blatant discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation remains permissible in workplaces across the nation, an injustice Congress must rectify.
Thanks to landmark laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, most workers must be judged on their abilities and job performance, not on irrelevant personal characteristics such as race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age or disability. Gay, lesbian and transgendered employees, however, are unprotected by the federal government.
That would change with enactment of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. In both its House and Senate versions, ENDA would prohibit discrimination in private and public employment on the basis of “actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.” It would also forbid employers from segregating gay, lesbian and transgender employees from the rest of the workforce. Also prohibited would be retaliation against any person who reported a case of discrimination or opposed a discriminatory practice.
Demand Employment Equality!
Rea Carey | San Diego Gay and Lesbian News
Countless LGBT people have lost their livelihoods because our government has failed to take swift action on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).
* In 29 states, it’s still legal to fire a worker for being lesbian, gay or bisexual.
* And in 38 states, a person can be fired just for being transgender.
This is not acceptable and we won’t stand for it!
You have been a strong ally in our fight to pass ENDA and we need your help now.
Speak out now to end workplace discrimination:
Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Ask to speak to your members of Congress and urge them to pass this landmark civil rights bill immediately. Tell them that you are a constituent and that you vote!
ENDA is being held up in committee by indifference and right-wing extremism. If we do not pass this bill by the November elections, we will have to start all over again next year in what will likely be a more conservative and hostile Congress.
In the meantime, LGBT people will continue to live in fear of losing their jobs — and the financial security of their families — simply because of who they are and whom they love.
We will not be denied our basic rights any longer. The time has come to demand our right to work free of harassment, prejudice and fear. And we need you to join us in sending a loud message to Congress that further delays on ENDA are unacceptable.
Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and urge Congress to pass ENDA now.
Thanks for all you do to help move our community toward full equality.
Sincerely,
Rea Carey
Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund
Support ENDA Anti-Discrimination Bill
Letter to the Editor by Nick Wilkerson, Board Member, Kentucky Fairness Alliance | The Courier-Journal
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, (H.R. 3017) would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. This is hardly a radical notion since already 40 percent of the U.S. population is protected from such discrimination by virtue of laws in 12 states and over 100 localities. Over a million Kentuckians are protected through local ordinances in Covington, Lexington and Louisville, thanks to the combined efforts of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance, our allies (such as the Fairness Campaign) and fair-minded individuals.
However, federal legislation is still needed since those Americans who are most vulnerable to discrimination tend to reside in the states, cities and rural areas that have not enacted such laws. We have certainly found that to be true here in Kentucky. Without such protection, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers can be fired without recourse simply for who they are.
ENDA addresses many objections by exempting the armed forces, religious institutions and employers with fewer than 15 employees.
Kentuckians have consistently demonstrated that they believe in fairness. As long ago as 1999, a survey by Decision Research found that nearly 73 percent of all Kentuckians believed that this type of employment discrimination was wrong. Once again, Kentuckians demonstrated that they are “ahead” of most of their legislators in their respect for basic human rights.
ENDA currently has 202 co-sponsors in the U.S. House, including Rep. John Yarmuth of Louisville. While this is a great indication of widespread support, ENDA currently is stuck in the House Education and Labor Committee.
All fair-minded Kentuckians in the 3rd District need to contact Yarmuth to thank him for his support of ENDA. Also, please urge him to add his voice to those in Congress requesting the leadership of the House to bring ENDA to a vote prior to the Memorial Day recess. Please let your voices in support of ENDA be heard now.
Watch ENDA: Pass It Now
ENDA: We’ve Waited Long Enough
By Leslie Gabel-Brett | Huffington Post
Vandy Beth Glenn should not have to wait any longer. In 2007, she lost her job as a legislative editor for the Georgia General Assembly because of discrimination against her as a transgender employee.
And Richard Mitchell should not have to wait any longer. In 2006, he was fired from his job as superintendent of Bremen Community High School District No. 228 in Chicago by a school board that elected a chairperson who opposed hiring him because he is gay.
These two Lambda Legal clients are suing their former employers for discrimination. They have top-notch experienced lawyers and fairness on their side. They have the constitutional guarantee of equal protection on their side, and Mitchell, who worked in Chicago, has a local law prohibiting discrimination on his side. The one thing they do not have is the very thing that every employee should have: equal opportunity on the job guaranteed by a federal law that explicitly protects against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination.
It’s time for Congress to pass the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) to prohibit employment discrimination against LGBT people. By passing ENDA, Congress not only would provide a legal remedy for discrimination, but also would make a powerful statement of principle regarding fair treatment of all employees who work hard and perform well.
What does it take to pass a bill in Congress? A majority of votes? We’ve got that. Public opinion in favor of the bill? We’ve got that, too. An urgent need and effective remedy? That is what ENDA is all about.
It has been more than 40 years since Congress enacted Title VII of the1964 Civil Rights Act, creating for the first time a law against discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Twenty years ago, in 1990, Congress added protections against employment discrimination for people with disabilities by enacting Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
It is now 2010 and many people are surprised to learn that, in a majority of states, there is no law explicitly prohibiting an employer from firing, refusing to hire or otherwise discriminating against job candidates and employees because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. At Lambda Legal, we still fight to protect people from discrimination using constitutional principles and other laws that may apply, but too often, that’s not enough. Only 12 states and the District of Columbia currently have state laws that comprehensively prohibit discrimination against LGBT people, and another nine states prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation only. The first state law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was passed by Wisconsin in 1982 and the most recent was passed in Delaware in 2009 after more than ten years of trying in the state legislature.
It is difficult to overstate the importance of obtaining recourse for the widespread discrimination faced by LGBT workers. Lambda Legal operates a Legal Help Desk through which we respond to people who are seeking legal information about and assistance regarding discrimination related to sexual orientation and gender identity. Most years, we receive more calls regarding LGBT workplace discrimination than any other single issue — about 1,000 employment discrimination calls each year. These remarkable figures certainly understate the prevalence of the problem — we are just one telephone number that people may find.
People define themselves in large part by the work they do, spend significant portions of their time in the workplace, and depend on their jobs to support themselves and their families and to gain access to health care and other benefits. The emotional investment we all have in our jobs means that not only is it devastating when we lose a job, are denied a promotion or otherwise subjected to adverse job actions due to discrimination, but it also takes a significant toll simply to know that we can face harassment or discrimination at any moment and have almost no redress.
For now, Congress alone can provide a national solution to the problem. Having a fair and equal opportunity to get and keep a job, to be judged on the quality of your work and not to be subject to the fears and prejudices of employers should not be dependent on where you live. Vandy Beth Glenn, Richard Mitchell and hundreds of thousands of other LGBT employees around the country should not have to wait any longer.
ENDA Supporters Demand Action Now
by Chris Boyer | Washington Blade
Several LGBT organizations are calling on Congress to take immediate action on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, as potential delays threaten to scuttle the bill.
Advocates made their case for the passage of ENDA, a federal measure that would bar job bias against LGBT people in most public and private workforce settings, during a press conference Tuesday at the National Press Club in D.C.
Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, said ENDA supporters are demanding Congress “pass without delay” the bill to ensure that LGBT people have “the right to join with others in contributing our talent, skills and expertise to this nation’s workforce.”
“We are at the end of our patience,” she said. “In this Congress alone, we have organized over 200 constituent Hill visits to members of the House and the Senate.”
Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, emphasized the importance of passing ENDA to provide protections for transgender people seeking employment.
“All of our organizations get calls every week — sometimes every day of the week — from people who are losing jobs from lesbians in Manhattan, Kansas, to transgender people in Louisiana,” she said.
Keisling said a recent study conducted by her organization found that 27 percent of transgender people were fired because of their gender identity and 97 percent of trans people have faced harassment at work.
“As somebody who has done survey research most of my professional life, I can tell you, you never see 97 percent,” Keisling said. “That’s everybody.”
Despite the calls for immediate action, it’s unlikely the House will take action on ENDA in the coming weeks due to scheduling issues.
A Democratic leadership aide, who spoke to the Blade on the condition of anonymity, said U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a conference call with LGBT leaders on Monday in which she said ENDA passage would have to be put off until later.
According to the aide, Pelosi said her preference was to move forward with a vote on ENDA, but the opportunity for an amendment on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” could naturally come up as an amendment next week when the House takes up defense budget legislation.
“Some of the groups want to vote on both things next week, and there is physically not the time to do that,” the aide said.
After completing work next week, the House is scheduled for a week-long recess for Memorial Day break, potentially putting off a vote on ENDA and perhaps endangering the bill as lawmakers move toward the thick of campaign season.
Also problematic for the passage of ENDA in the House is a legislative floor maneuver available to opponents: the motion to recommit. The maneuver forces a vote on sending the legislation back to the committee that approved it — possibly with or without instructions.
In an effort to kill the bill, opponents of ENDA could employ a motion to recommit that might strip the transgender protections from the legislation, or affect some other aspect of the bill’s language. Some conservative ENDA supporters may feel inclined to vote for this motion to recommit even if they would vote in favor of the legislation as a whole.
Should lawmakers pass the legislation in the House, passage in the Senate is doubtful. Multiple sources have told the Blade that supporters do not have the 60 votes needed in that chamber to overcome a filibuster.
But LGBT leaders remain optimistic about the support for ENDA in the House. Keisling said the legislation is “ripe” for passage because it currently has 202 co-sponsors, which she said is the greatest number of co-sponsors for any piece of pro-LGBT legislation in Congress. Having 202 co-sponsors means just 16 additional votes are needed for passage when the bill comes to the floor.
Carey said she believes the votes are there for passage of ENDA on the House floor and for defeating a motion to recommit that would strip from the bill its transgender language.
“We are calling for Congress to take up its responsibility to represent its constituents, and we are among them,” she said. “We believe we have the votes in the House — both on the bill and to make sure that the bill remains inclusive of our community.”
One reporter asked during the press conference how confident ENDA supporters are that the legislation could survive a motion to recommit that’s narrower than stripping out the gender identity protections.
Keisling said the focus of motions to recommit are often unpredictable, but ENDA supporters have as much confidence in defeating a motion based on gender identity as they are with other issues.
“I don’t think we’re more worried about a gender identity motion to recommit, at this point, than we are against just a mischievous, shameful, cynical motion to recommit that could include gay people, could include trans people,” she said. “Advancing human rights is sometimes about taking risks.”
The Human Rights Campaign didn’t join Tuesday’s news conference at the National Press Club.
Asked during the event about HRC’s absence, Carey said Joe Solmonese, HRC’s president, had been invited to attend, but was unable due to travel commitments.
“What I will say is that the Human Rights Campaign has continued to be a very strong ally in the coalition of organizations, specifically pushing for an inclusive bill for all of our community,” Carey said.
In response to a Blade query as to why HRC didn’t join the conference, Michael Cole, an HRC spokesperson, responded with a statement on the general situation with ENDA.
“The Speaker, Chairman [Barney] Frank, Chairman [George] Miller and Reps. [Tammy] Baldwin and [Jared] Polis are focused on securing the votes needed to pass ENDA and defeat a harmful motion-to-recommit,” he said. “On a call the Speaker had with a number of LGBT organizations [Monday], she said that she didn’t intend to leave this Congress without a vote on ENDA. We’re focused on getting the votes necessary to pass the bill once it does come to the floor.”
