The Supreme Court’s landmark decision to provide married gay couples with the same benefits as all married couples is fueling momentum for more federal and state laws that provide equal protections and rights to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans. Next up: Workplace discrimination.
Legislation that protects LGBT employees from workplace discrimination was approved yesterday by the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee, in a 15-7 vote. The legislation now moves to the Senate floor for a full vote, but whether such legislation can pass the Republican-controlled House remains in question.
Called the Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), the bill would extend current worker protections based on race, religion, gender and national origin to sexual orientation and gender identity. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia already have such protections, according to the Human Rights Campaign—this would create nationwide law.
While the legislation in its current form exempts businesses with 15 or fewer employees, if passed, it could change how many small employers ensure their workplace environment is comfortable and safe for LGBT employees. And that’s a common problem: A report by the University of California's Williams Institute found that about 38 percent of gay, lesbian and bi-sexual employees who were “out” at work said they had experienced some form of discrimination or harassment at the workplace. Transgendered employees had reported even higher rates, with 78 percent reporting some form of discrimination or harassment at work.
Small-business owners are wise to keep up to date with this type of legislation, as it can affect how they treat employees—and would give employees legal backbone to sue if they feel an employer or co-worker discriminated against them.
According to a recent poll, however, most small-business owners support anti-discrimination laws for LGBT employees. A Small Business Majority survey found that two-thirds of business owners believe that federal law should ban employment discrimination against gays. Interestingly, 81 percent of those surveyed thought such discrimination was already illegal.
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