The Trump Administration's Department of Commerce has outraged LGBT groups by removing sexual orientation and gender identity from the list of categories explicitly protected from discrimination in its latest equal employment opportunity statement.

After this story was published, the department then said it would re-issue the policy.

"The Department of Commerce does not tolerate behavior, harassment, discrimination or prejudice based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability," read the 2017 Secretarial Policy Statement on Equal Employment Opportunity signed by Secretary Wilbur Ross. "We will also provide reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities."

Here's the same section from the 2014 and 2016 statements from President Obama's commerce secretary, Penny Pritzker:



The Department of Commerce does not tolerate discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age (40 years of age and over), genetic information, or disability (physical or mental), including the provision of reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities or genetic information

An October 2010 statement from Secretary Gary Locke, Obama's first commerce secretary, also read:

The Department of Commerce does not tolerate discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age (40 years of age and over), genetic information or disability (physical or mental), including the provision of reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities.

While the exclusion does not affect the legal rights of LGBT employees at the department, "it makes the employees feel unwelcome," Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, told BuzzFeed News.

A source told BuzzFeed News the Ross policy statement was circulated to department staff on Thursday.

The new policy statement was uploaded some time in the last 10 days, as an archiving of the website from June 6 shows the 2016 statement.

After this story was published, a Commerce Department spokesperson told BuzzFeed News the policy would be re-issued at Secretary Ross's direction:

To be clear, the Department’s EEO policy statement was never intended to change the policy or exclude any protected categories. The Department of Commerce policy remains that we do not discriminate on the basis of transgender status and sexual orientation. Department employees will continue to enjoy the fullest extent of the protections of all the non-discrimination laws. EEOC has instructed federal agencies to process complaints of discrimination on the basis of transgender status and sexual orientation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and through the federal sector EEO complaint process at 29 C.F.R. Part 1614 as claims of sex discrimination. Secretary Ross has directed the Department to reissue the policy statement to address any concerns and prevent misinterpretation.

On Friday, Ross sent the following email to staff:

Dear Commerce Team:

I understand the concerns of many Department of Commerce staff following the 2017 EEO policy statement. I want to assure you that the EEO statement was never intended to change policy or exclude any protected categories. The Department of Commerce remains committed to nondiscrimination on the basis of transgender status and sexual orientation. Department employees will continue to enjoy the fullest extent of the protections of all the non-discrimination laws. Please find below a reissued employee opportunity statement that fully reflects my views and the views of the Department.

WILBUR ROSS

The policy was then re-uploaded to the Commerce Department website with sexual orientation and gender identity re-instated.