Employment Non-Discrimination Act | American Civil Liberties Union

Employment discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers is pervasive and harmful. It violates core American values of fairness and equality by discriminating against qualified individuals based on characteristics unrelated to the job.

Congress needs to act to ensure that LGBT individuals have the same workplace protections that apply based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, and disability. The reality remains that it is legal to fire or refuse to hire someone based on his or her sexual orientation in 29 states. Those who are transgender can be fired or denied employment solely based on their gender identity in 33 states. Such numbers demonstrate the need for the federal government to expand employment non-discrimination protections to LGBT workers.

This view is shared by the overwhelming majority of the American public, including majorities of self-identified Democrats, Republicans, and independents. A 2011 poll found that 73 percent of likely voters support protecting LGBT people from discrimination in employment. In addition, many large and small businesses – including many federal contractors – have already taken these steps on their own, and report that they have very few or no costs and actually reap longer-term benefits to their bottom lines (e.g. recruiting the best and brightest, minimizing turnover costs, increasing productivity, appeal to new markets, etc.).

While passage of ENDA is critical for LGBT people across the country, the legislation’s current, sweeping religious exemption must be narrowed. ENDA’s religious exemption could provide religiously affiliated organizations – far beyond houses of worship – with a blank check to engage in employment discrimination against LGBT people. Religious liberty guarantees use the freedom to hold any belief we choose and the right to act on our religious beliefs, unless those actions harm others or result in discrimination. ENDA’s religious exemption essentially says that LGBT discrimination is different – more legitimate – than discrimination against individuals based on their race or sex.

CAMPAIGN INVOLVEMENT

Americans for Workplace Opportunity

The ACLU is part of a bipartisan campaign – Americans for Workplace Opportunity – that formed this summer to take advantage of a historic opportunity to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act 19 years after its first introduction. The steering committee of Americans for Workplace Opportunity is a diverse and bipartisan group of organizations composed of: American Civil Liberties Union, American Federation of Teachers, American Unity Fund, Human Rights Campaign, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, National Center for Transgender Equality, National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, and the Service Employees International Union. Dozens of other organizations that support ENDA will also be involved in the coalition.