Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)

[Thinker]

I am just now taking steps to get involved with Equality Nevada and am particularly interested in learning more about (and securing) workplace protections for trans-identified individuals. This is a new process for me......a new way of being......and I'm both excited and nervous (nervous because this type of involvement is very new to me).

What have your experiences been with this piece of legislation? Your level of involvement?

Part of this journey may take me to the HR departments of businesses and corporations. I want to see what is in place......or what's *not* in place.......to share and learn..... Hell, I don't know. Like I said, it's new for me.

Thoughts? Stories? Links?

Please, note: Although *my* particular interest as I move forward is to see what is/isn't in place for trans-folks, I am focusing on all under the GLBTQI umbrella when talking about ENDA here.

In case you're interested in the basics on ENDA, this is from www.hrc.org ...

What is the Employment Non-Discrimination Act?

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) would provide basic protections against workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. ENDA simply affords to all Americans basic employment protection from discrimination based on irrational prejudice. The bill is closely modeled on existing civil rights laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The bill explicitly prohibits preferential treatment and quotas and does not permit disparate impact suits. In addition, it exempts small businesses, religious organizations and the military, and does not require that domestic partner benefits be provided to the same-sex partners of employees.

What ENDA Does

* Extends federal employment discrimination protections currently provided based on race, religion, sex, national origin, age and disability to sexual orientation and gender identity
* Prohibits public and private employers, employment agencies and labor unions from using an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity as the basis for employment decisions, such as hiring, firing, promotion or compensation
* Provides for the same procedures, and similar, but somewhat more limited, remedies as are permitted under Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act
* Applies to Congress and the federal government, as well as employees of state and local governments

What ENDA Does Not Do

* Cover businesses with fewer than 15 employees
* Apply to religious organizations
* Apply to the uniformed members of the armed forces (the bill doesn’t affect the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy)
* Allow for quotas or preferential treatment based on sexual orientation or gender identity
* Allow a "disparate impact" claim similar to the one available under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Therefore, an employer is not required to justify a neutral practice that may have a statistically disparate impact on individuals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity
* Allow the imposition of affirmative action for a violation of ENDA
* Allow the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to collect statistics on sexual orientation or gender identity or compel employers to collect such statistics.
* Apply retroactively