Inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act introduced for first time in Senate

August 14, 6:42 PMSonoma County Civil Rights ExaminerMegan Coffey

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Sen. Boxer (D-CA), ENDA co-sponsor. Photo: AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta

Did you know that in 29 US states it is legal to fire someone for being gay…or even just seeming to be gay? And that in 38 states it is legal to fire someone for being (or seeming) transgender?

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 (ENDA) aims to eliminate that type of discrimination throughout the country. If passed, ENDA would add real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of categories—which already includes race, sex, religion, national origin, age and disability—legally prohibited from being the sole basis for an individual's being fired, denied employment or denied promotion.

An ENDA inclusive of trangender protections comes as welcome progress after 2007’s doomed gay-only version of ENDA, which stripped gender identity language to garner more votes in the House of Representatives, despite the certainty of a Bush veto even if it passed. Many gay rights groups protested the non-inclusive bill at the time, seeing it as a betrayal of transgender allies and a rejection of LGBT solidarity.

Fortunately, the version of ENDA introduced in the Senate in early August not only includes transgender protections, but is also bipartisan: it has two lead Republican sponsors—Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine—as well as two lead Democratic sponsors, Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA). (Both California senators Boxer and Feinstein are co-sponsors.) An inclusive ENDA was also introduced in the House in late June.

According to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, 85% of Fortune 500 companies already include sexual orientation in their equal employment policies, and over one-third provide protection for gender identity as well. In fact, more than sixty leading US companies have joined a coalition of businesses favoring the current ENDA legislation. ENDA is also supported by a broad spectrum of civil rights groups, religious and professional organizations, and unions, including NAACP, ACLU, United Church of Christ, National Employment Lawyers Association, AFL-CIO and SEIU.

A list of the 39 co-sponsors of ENDA (S. 1584) is available, along with the text of the legislation, at the Library of Congress website. Supporters of ENDA who don’t see their senators’ names listed are encouraged to contact their senators to ask them to co-sponsor the bill.

For more info: House of Representatives version of ENDA, definitions of LGBT terms