Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) Reintroduced in the 113th Congress

With no federal law currently protecting  individuals from job discrimination based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, civil rights advocates applauded today the reintroduction of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in Congress.

Arguing that the “time has long since come to end this injustice for LGBT Americans and pass ENDA,” The Leadership Conference and 91 other organizations have signed onto a letter urging Congress to pass the law. “Without a comprehensive federal law like ENDA, these workers lack employment protections in a majority of states,” the letter states.

ENDA is modeled after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, religion, gender, national origin, and color. ENDA works within the boundaries of the Civil Rights Act to protect a group of people who have historically and currently faced discriminated.

While some states offer protection based on sexual orientation and gender identity, it is still legal in 29 states to fire members of the LGBT community due to their sexual orientation and in 34 states because of their gender identity. ENDA would ban this type of discrimination in all states.

Public support for ENDA is strong. A June 2011 poll from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research found that 73 percent of likely voters support protecting LGBT people from discrimination in employment.