CAP Action War Room

President Obama Just Announced The Single Largest Expansion Of LGBT Workplace Protections In Our Country’s History

As many as 9 out of 10 voters believe federal law already protects LGBT workers from discrimination. But it doesn’t. And while the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) was passed by the Senate this year, it has stalled in the House; Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has made it clear that there is “no way” ENDA will pass this year.

Enter the latest chapter of the Obama Administration’s “year of action.” The White House announced today that President Obama will issue an executive order requiring that all companies who contract with the federal government must not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Think Progress reporter Zack Ford has the details:

The order, expected to be finalized in the coming weeks, is an extension of orders previously issued by past presidents — most recently Johnson — similarly banning employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin among all contractors and subcontractors who do over $10,000 in business with the government in any one year.

The protections will reach over one million LGBT workers across the country, making it the single largest expansion of LGBT workplace protections in our country’s history. There continue to be 29 states that offer no employment protections on the basis of sexual orientation and 32 with no protections based on gender identity, but many LGBT workers in those states will now have workplace protections for the first time ever. As many as 43 percent of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people and 90 percent of transgender people have experienced some form of harassment or discrimination in the workplace.

As with Obama’s executive order raising the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors to $10.10, this order will cover an enormous number of people but still relies on Congress to pass a law making sure that millions more LGBT Americans have the freedom to work.

Recently, some LGBT advocates have been giving second thoughts to the current ENDA bill in Congress, based on a religious liberty exemption that could have the potential interpreted too broadly. Here’s Zack Ford again:

The LGBT movement has also become increasingly divided over whether ENDA in its current form is worth pursuing. After two decades of failed consideration in Congress, the bill has been weakened by an exemption that would grant religious organizations unprecedented privilege to continue discriminating against LGBT people. A number of state groups and legal organizations have recently dropped their support for ENDA because they believe that the exemption goes too far and codifies into law the idea that LGBT identities are incompatible with faith. The executive order is thus an important step even if ENDA eventually passes.

BOTTOM LINE: Americans of any sexual orientation and gender identity should have the freedom to work and the right to equal treatment in the workplace. President Obama’s latest executive action is the biggest expansion of those rights in American history. There is more left to be done when it comes to giving all Americans equal protection, and Congress should follow the President’s lead by passing a federal law that ends unfair and discriminatory workplace practices that hurt LGBT workers and their families.

Kids Need Your Help

There’s still time! We’ve got another chance to tell Congress that in the midst of a public health crisis, we can’t take fruits and vegetables off kids’ school lunch trays.

Last week—after intense debate—Congress postponed a crucial vote to either gut or protect new standards that have improved school lunches. We’re gaining more and more momentum, and until the House of Representatives votes, we’re keeping the pressure on—act now to defend healthy school lunches for kids!

Union of Concerned Scientists analysis has shown that increasing our consumption of fruits and vegetables could prevent thousands of deaths and billions of dollars in health care costs each year from diet-related chronic disease. Today, Americans of all ages are not eating nearly enough of these healthy foods.

Congress recently improved federally funded school lunches by requiring at least half a cup of fruits and vegetables with every meal. These standards were a positive first step in ensuring that kids will get the foods they need to grow up healthy. We can’t go back on the gains we have made to improve kids’ diets.

Urge your member of Congress to stop the attack on healthy school lunch standards!

Sincerely,

Ashley Elles
National Field Organizer
Food & Environment Program
Union of Concerned Scientists

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday endorsed the appointment of a child protection czar to make sweeping changes in the way the county protects abused and neglected children.

The action comes a year after the death of Gabriel Fernandez, an 8-year-old boy who was severely beaten despite repeated calls to the child welfare authorities. The case was first reported by The Times.

The new Office of Child Protection would represent the most significant reorganization of county government in nearly a decade since the supervisors selected William T Fujioka as chief executive and endowed his office with significantly enhanced authority. The child welfare czar would report directly to the supervisors and be responsible for developing a funding and policy strategy for the Department of Children and Family Services and all other county departments responsible for protecting vulnerable children.

The vote on the proposal was 4-1, with Supervisor Don Knabe opposed; he called it an unnecessary new layer of bureaucracy.

For the latest information go to www.latimes.com