Federal Contractor Ban on Anti-Gay Discrimination Prepped; Meanwhile, ENDA Dies Again

The Department of Labor has
announced its rule change for federal contractors that will
prohibit them from discriminating against employees on the basis of
sexual orientation and gender identity. The rule will go into
effect in 120 days and also requires contractors to add sexual
orientation and gender identity to their equal opportunity
statements when they advertise positions.

The new rule does not require that contractors set up quotas or
collect statistical data on the basis of the two categories. It
also does not change the exemptions for religious organizations
that have federal contracts. BuzzFeed has the order
posted here for anybody who wants to read it (nobody wants to
read it, but just in case).

Meanwhile, as everybody probably expected, last-minute efforts
by Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) to get the Employment
Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) rushed through Congress have failed.
This would be the legislation that would outlaw private
discrimination against gay and transgender employees at most
workplaces, not just those with federal contracts, and has failed
to pass for years now. Polis tried to push it through as an
amendment to a defense authorization bill, but it didn’t fly, and
according to the Washington Blade, he wasn’t even at the
House Rules Committee meeting meeting when it came up, even though
he’s a member.

The Blade suspects ENDA will get end up adrift in the
Republican wave taking control of Congress and will see little
movement during the next term, even though it has
some GOP supporters:

Last year, the Senate passed a version of ENDA on a bipartisan
basis by a 64-32 vote, but the House never brought up the
measure for a vote and is set to adjourn by Dec. 11. It’s
unlikely the bill will come up when Congress reconvenes for the
114th Congress given major election wins by Republican on Election
Day.

The version of ENDA with which Polis tried to amend the
defense bill had a religious exemption along the lines of Title VII
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a Polis aide said. Unlike the
version of ENDA the Senate passed last year, the Polis measure
would bar LGBT discrimination at religious-affiliated
businesses for non-ministerial positions.

I don’t imagine ENDA passing without strong exception for
religiously affiliated businesses. Not that I support ENDA
anyway—read my concerns about
what it means for freedom of association here.

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