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ENDA faces Senate Vote, Presidential Veto

December 4th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

Although ENDA has passed the US House of Representatives, no similar bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate. The Senate would have to pass the bill, and the president sign it or have a veto overridden, for the bill to become law.

ENDA would make it illegal for employers to “fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to the compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment of the individual, because of such individual’s actual or perceived sexual orientation.”

In a compromise measure, the law exempts the U.S. military, churches and religious institutions, and employers with 15 or fewer workers from the measure.

While there is currently no federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, seventeen states do have such statutes. They are Illinois, New Jersey, New York, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. Some of these states also specifically prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. There are six states where discrimination by private employers is legal, but not in public workplaces. These include Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Indiana and Pennsylvania.

ENDA, as currently worded, would make it illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in hiring, firing, promoting or paying an employee. An earlier motion to kill the bill by sending it back to committee was defeated by a margin of 222 to 198.

In addition, a number of cities and counties outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing and employment. According to the ACLU, at least 180 municipalities have such laws.

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), the lead Senate backer of ENDA in past years, issued a statement late Wednesday praising the House vote and saying he would soon introduce ENDA in the Senate. Kennedy didn’t disclose whether his version of the bill would be similar to the House version or whether he would add transgender protections, which House Democrats removed from the bill before bringing it up for a vote this week.

The New York Times reported that some Senate Republicans said ENDA would have a good chance of passing in the Senate “if properly worded.”

Even if ENDA was passed in the Senate, President George W. Bush has vowed to veto it. There is no indication that Congress has enough votes to override the veto. Some observers note that the bill’s true value is for the future. Having ENDA passed by both the House and Senate makes it more likely that the bill will be passed once Bush leaves office.

“This is truly an historic day,” said Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California. “As someone who has looked forward to this day for the 20 years I have served in Congress, it is a joyous occasion.”

While calling the House action an important milestone, Pelosi joined gay Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) in expressing disappointment that the bill did not include protections for transgender workers. Barney Frank and Tammy Baldwin are the only two openly gay members of Congress.

The ENDA bill sparked controversy when the House committee omitted verbage that would protect the rights of transgendered people. Activists for the gay and bisexual communities celebrated the victory, while transgendered people saw the law as a sell-out.

The final ENDA vote came after a brief but emotional debate over a GOP-proposed motion to recommit the bill to committee. House procedures allow members of the minority party to introduce motions to recommit bills to committee, often with instructions to add new provisions to the bills.

The measure was supported by the Leadership Council on Civil Rights the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Human Rights Campaign; the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees; the National Education Association; National Employment Lawyers Association; Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; and Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith.