House Passes Historic Civil Rights Legislation to End Employment Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation 

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. House of Representatives today approved historic legislation to end workplace discrimination against Americans on the basis of sexual orientation.

“This legislation was first introduced in the House in 1975, more than 30 years ago. In the last three decades, gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans have waged a courageous campaign for their workplace rights,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “They should not have had to wait so long for this vote. This discrimination has no place in American society, and I am proud that the House has taken a stand against it.” 

The legislation, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, was approved today by a vote of 235 to 184. The bill, introduced by Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), would prohibit employment discrimination against gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans. Under the legislation, employers with 15 or more employees would be barred from firing, refusing to hire, demoting, refusing to promote, or otherwise discriminating against workers on the basis of sexual orientation.

Thirty states permit employers to discriminate against employees based solely on their sexual orientation, and no federal law prohibits such discrimination today.

A study published recently in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that 37 percent of gay and lesbian workers across the U.S. had faced sexual orientation discrimination. Ten percent of respondents said they had been physically harassed at work; 22 percent said they had been verbally harassed at work; and nearly 20 percent said they had resigned from a job or had been fired from a job in part because of discrimination based on sexual orientation.

“We have made history today by passing legislation that ensures that discrimination based on sexual orientation is wrong and will not be tolerated,” said Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ), chairman of the subcommittee. “I commend my colleagues who voted in favor of this long overdue legislation and I want to especially thank advocates around the country who worked so hard to push for this legislation that prevents discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.”

Many businesses have enacted nondiscrimination policies, both for civil rights and competitiveness reasons. Nearly 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies have adopted policies of sexual orientation nondiscrimination, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

The legislation would prohibit preferential treatment on the basis of sexual orientation. The bill would also protect the religious liberty of religious organizations, including religious schools that are not affiliated with any particular church or denomination. 

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