Out At Work?

Out At Work?
July 2000

From filmmaker Michael Moore's website on July 3 (ACLUAction Alert):

In a majority of places in the United States, it is perfectly legal to discriminate against lesbian, gay and bisexual employees on the job. No federal law prevents this. To remedy this problem, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, known as ENDA (H.R. 2355 / S. 1276), was introduced in the House and and in the Senate. The bill would outlaw discrimination based on real or perceived sexual orientation in the workplace.

ENDA does not call for any special treatment for gays and lesbians. It explicitly prohibits preferential treatment and quotas, and excludes religious institutions, the military and businesses with fewer than 15 employees.

In 1996 ENDA was rejected by the narrowest of margins in the Senate, losing in a 49 to 50 vote. This was the first time either chamber of the U.S. Congress had voted on a gay civil rights bill. In the current Congress, ENDA has more cosponsors than it has ever had, with more than a third of Senate and House members signed on. The AFL-CIO, AARP, NAACP, and NOW are all working to get the bill passed.

We can win this one, but we still need all the help we can get! For more information: www.aclu.org/action/enda106.html