labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Employment discrimination based on sexual orientation may well become illegal under federal law, if the ENDA bill currently being debated in Congress is passed.

Experts are predicting that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act or ENDA has an excellent chance of being signed into law within the next 12 months.

ENDA was introduced in the House by Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts as H.R. 3017 in June 2009. More than 150 representatives have co-sponsored the bill.

Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon introduced it in the Senate as S. 1584 where it garnered 39 co-sponsors.

The bill is currently being debated in the House Education and Labor Committee. President Barack Obama has expressed strong support for ENDA and urged Congress to pass it.

While a number of states including Washington, New Jersey, Illinois and California have laws that prohibit employment discrimination against homosexuals, there is no federal law at this point. In some states such as Oklahoma, an employer can legally pay homosexuals less than their heterosexual coworkers. An employer can even refuse to hire an applicant who is homosexual. ENDA would change that.

A number of gay rights organizations are opposed to ENDA (more…)