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From 365Gay.com

Revised ENDA Also Reduces Protections For Gays, Legal Group Says


Monday, October 1, 2007

(New York City) A preliminary assessment of the revised version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act shows the bill to be riddled with loopholes in addition to dropping protections for transgender people, Lambda Legal said Monday.

The newest version of the bill is not simply the old version with the transgender protections stripped out -- but rather a totally reworked version in several additional and troubling ways, Lambda said.

"Leaving out protections for transgender people is unacceptable, and passing a bill riddled with loopholes will make it harder to achieve equality on the job," said Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director at Lambda Legal.

"You can't be fired for being a lesbian or a gay man, but you can be fired if your boss thinks you fit their stereotype of one."

In addition to the missing protections for transgender people on the job, the new bill also leaves out a key element to protect any employee, including lesbians and gay men who may not conform to their employer's idea of how a man or woman should look and act.

This is a huge loophole through which employers sued for sexual orientation discrimination can claim that their conduct was actually based on gender expression, a type of discrimination that the new bill does not prohibit, said Lambda.

The new version of ENDA also states without qualification that refusal by employers to extend health insurance benefits to the domestic partners of their employees that are provided only to married couples cannot be considered sexual orientation discrimination.

The old version at least provided that states and local governments could require that employees be provided domestic partner health insurance when such benefits are provided to spouses.

In the previous version of ENDA the religious exemptions had some limitations. The new version has a blanket exemption under which, for example, hospitals or universities run by faith-based groups can fire or refuse to hire people they think might be gay or lesbian.

"After working together for so many years on a bill to provide protections for the LGBT community on the job -- we can do better than this," Cathcart said in a statement on Monday.

The bill goes before the House Education and Labor committee on Tuesday where it is expected to be marked up for a vote on the full floor of the House.

The bill was first introduced in Congress in April and, in its original form would have made it illegal to fire, refuse to hire or refuse to promote an employee based on the person's sexual orientation or gender identity.

Late last week all references to transsexuals and gender identity was removed in a backroom deal reportedly orchestrated by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).

Frank, one of only two out members of Congress, is the lead sponsor of ENDA in the House. His decision to split off transgender rights infuriated LGBT activists.

On Sunday he tried to quell the dissent, saying removing trans rights was the only way to get the rest of the measure passed.

"It is never possible for us at any given time to get everything that we would like, and so we have to make difficult choices," said Frank.

Unlike the original bill the revised one does not come with the co-sponsorship of Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) the only other openly gay member of Congress.

On Monday National Stonewall Democrats initiated an online organizing effort to further mobilize members of the party to save the the original version of ENDA. NoSubstitutes.org provides Democrats with an opportunity to add their name to a growing list of advocates who support the original bill.