• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Film/TV/Stream
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Tech/Science
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox

Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) Introduced in Congress

Andy Towle April 25, 2013

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) was reintroduced today in the House and Senate.

MerkleyUnfortunately, its reintroduction was marred by objections over religous exemption language in the bill. The ACLU, Lambda Legal, National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Transgender Law Center released a joint statement Thursday morning applauding the reintroduction but expressing "very grave concerns" about the exemption language:

Despite the remarkable progress – cultural, political, and legal – that LGBT people have made in recent years, there are currently 34 states that lack workplace non-discrimination laws that are fully inclusive of LGBT people. This patchwork of protection continues to leave LGBT people vulnerable to workplace discrimination. We hear the stories every day from our clients and the tens of thousands of LGBT people who contact LGBT legal organizations like ours every year. In a country that values fairness and equal treatment under the law, we believe the current situation is unacceptable.

We greatly appreciate the efforts of Sens. Merkley (pictured, D-Ore.) and Kirk (R-Ill.) and Reps. Polis (D-Colo.) and Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) in making a number of significant improvements to ENDA. These include removing language that would have reaffirmed the discriminatory and unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act.

While we applaud the progress that has been made, we stand united in expressing very grave concerns with the religious exemption in ENDA. It could provide religiously affiliated organizations – far beyond houses of worship – with a blank check to engage in employment discrimination against LGBT people. Some courts have said that even hospitals and universities may be able to claim the exemption; thus, it is possible that a religiously affiliated hospital could fire a transgender doctor or a religiously affiliated university could terminate a gay groundskeeper. It gives a stamp of legitimacy to LGBT discrimination that our civil rights laws have never given to discrimination based on an individual’s race, sex, national origin, age, or disability. This sweeping, unprecedented exemption undermines the core goal of ENDA by leaving too many jobs, and LGBT workers, outside the scope of its protections.

National Center for Transgender Equality's Mara Keisling wrote an F.A.Q. this morning on the bill and what it includes and does not include.

Buzzfeed has more on the religious exemption:

Lambda Legal attorney Greg Nevins, who has litigated some of the group's employment discrimination cases in the past, talked with BuzzFeed about the religious exemption.

"In Title VII, there's an exemption for certain religious-affiliated entities that says that they can basically engage in religious discrimination but they cannot engage in race, color, sex, or national origin discrimination. The words [religious-affiliated entities] have been sometimes interpreted very broadly," Nevins explained, noting, "For instance, a Presbyterian hospital might in some jurisdictions be considered to qualify, which is decidedly different than saying a church or a convent can do these things."

The religious exemption in ENDA "would say that sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination are not actionable against those entities as defined in Title VII," he added.

"It would be setting up a two-tiered system saying that race, color, sex, and national origin discrimination cannot be engaged in by one of these entities, but sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination can," Nevins said.

Topics: News More Posts About: ENDA, ENDA, News

Related Posts
  • Russia Blocks Facebook, Accusing it of Restricting Access to Russian Media;
  • Duran Duran Has New Music And You Are About To Enjoy it. It’s 2021. Seriously.
  • ‘Mayor Pete’ Trailer; Papa Pete Pwns Tucker; 4-Stars for Dr. Rachel Levine; JoJo Siwa’s Perfect 10s; Lynda Carter’s 8 Wonder-full Words: GOOD NEWS
  • Anderson Cooper: Shirtless Richard Gere made me realise I was gay

    Anderson Cooper: Shirtless Richard Gere made me realise I was gay

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Anderson Cooper says Richard Gere made him realise he was gay. The 55-year-old TV host – who is the son of late heiress Gloria Vanderbilt and actor Wyatt Cooper – went …Read More »
  • Beirut LGBT protests forced to postpone after death threats

    Beirut LGBT protests forced to postpone after death threats

    Published by Al-Araby Queer rights activists in Lebanon have been forced to cancel protests outside the interior ministry after receiving death threats and warnings of homophobic counter protests. Activists and allies of the LGBT community in …Read More »
  • Abortion decision backs US companies into a tight space

    Abortion decision backs US companies into a tight space

    Published by AFP As companies react to Friday's Surpeme Court decision on abortion, they are trying to avoid similar pitfalls to those faced by Disney after Florida's New York (AFP) – Several large US companies have …Read More »
  • Oslo gay bar shooting won’t stop fight for equal rights – Norway PM

    Oslo gay bar shooting won’t stop fight for equal rights – Norway PM

    Published by Reuters By Gwladys Fouche OSLO (Reuters) – The deadly rampage by a gunman at a gay bar and another venue in central Oslo on Saturday will not put an end to the fight for …Read More »
Previous Post: « What Seniors Think About Gay Sex: VIDEO
Next Post: Towleroad Talking Points: Bush, Minnesota and Scouts »

Primary Sidebar

News

  • Billie Eilish tells Glastonbury fans to scream away anxieties at history making headline slot

    Billie Eilish tells Glastonbury fans to scream away anxieties at history making headline slot

  • Landmark gun-safety bill heads to U.S. House after Senate passage

    Landmark gun-safety bill heads to U.S. House after Senate passage

  • Prosecutors seek 25-year prison sentence for Chauvin over breach of Floyd’s rights

    Prosecutors seek 25-year prison sentence for Chauvin over breach of Floyd’s rights

RSS Partner Links

  • HAPPY PRIDE — I'LL REPORT THIS WEEK ON TODAY'S EVENTS!
  • Sunday Round-Up: Madonna; Brittney Griner; Trixie Mattel; Gisele Shaw; Frankie Grande & more!
  • Snapped! Tom Daley & Dustin Lance Black in Paris!
  • Showtune Sunday: All about “Anything Goes”
  • Birthday Tribute: “I Love Lucy” icon Vivian Vance was born 113 years ago today
  • Sunday Comics
  • Speedo Sunday

Most Recent

  • Half Of LGBT People Have Symptoms Of Anxiety: Census

    Half Of LGBT People Have Symptoms Of Anxiety: Census

  • Anderson Cooper: Shirtless Richard Gere made me realise I was gay

    Anderson Cooper: Shirtless Richard Gere made me realise I was gay

  • Beirut LGBT protests forced to postpone after death threats

    Beirut LGBT protests forced to postpone after death threats

  • Abortion decision backs US companies into a tight space

    Abortion decision backs US companies into a tight space

  • Oslo gay bar shooting won’t stop fight for equal rights – Norway PM

    Oslo gay bar shooting won’t stop fight for equal rights – Norway PM

  • ‘F*ck BET:’ Lil Nas X BET Conflict Gets New Volley With Release Of New Single And Video ‘Late To Da Party’

    ‘F*ck BET:’ Lil Nas X BET Conflict Gets New Volley With Release Of New Single And Video ‘Late To Da Party’

  • Christian extremists destroy LGBT monument in east Beirut

    Christian extremists destroy LGBT monument in east Beirut

  • Ryan Resch Becomes First Openly Gay NBA Basketball Ops Person

    Ryan Resch Becomes First Openly Gay NBA Basketball Ops Person

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy
[towleroadmr] [towleroadtn]

Footer

Copyright © 2022 · Log in