House labor committee passes legislation to end sex discrimination

The House Education and Labor Committee has approved legislation to end workplace discrimination against Americans on the basis of sexual orientation.

US Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the committee, said: “Today marks the first vote ever taken on this important legislation in the House of Representatives since it was first introduced in 1975. It never should have taken over 30 years to get to this point, but I am proud that we have taken this historic step today.”

“It is hard to believe that otherwise fully qualified, bright and capable individuals are being denied employment or fired from their jobs for these completely non-work related reasons. This is profoundly unfair and, indeed, un-American

US Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the committee

The legislation, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, was approved by a vote of 27 to 21. If enacted, it would prohibit employment discrimination, preferential treatment, and retaliation on the basis of sexual orientation by employers with 15 or more employees. Thirty states permit employers to fire employees based solely on their sexual orientation.

“It is hard to believe that otherwise fully qualified, bright and capable individuals are being denied employment or fired from their jobs for these completely non-work related reasons,” said Miller today. “This is profoundly unfair and, indeed, un-American.”

“Perhaps the best evidence that nondiscrimination policies are good for business comes from the fact that many companies have voluntarily adopted such a policy

Lee Badgett, the research director at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law

The September hearing also highlighted the fact that many businesses have enacted nondiscrimination policies – both for civil rights reasons and to benefit their own competitiveness.

“Perhaps the best evidence that nondiscrimination policies are good for business comes from the fact that many companies have voluntarily adopted such a policy,” testified Lee Badgett, the research director at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, at a hearing. Badgett testified that 88 % of Fortune 500 companies have adopted nondiscrimination policies for sexual orientation.