Stopping anti-gay and transgender job discrimination with a federal law has been on the agenda of LGBT groups and some members of Congress for nearly 20 years. On Thursday, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2013 was once again introduced with bipartisan support to accomplish that taks. It was the ninth time ENDA has been introduced in Congress since 1994.

That this protection was not long ago passed into law is especially infuriating given the obvious and frequently devastating unfairness of the current situation in which employers have a free hand to discriminate against gays, lesbians and transgenders. The failure is not a matter of having to buck the public. Polls, including this one consistently have shown a majority of Americans favor shielding LGBTs from job discrimination. But one problem is that nine of out 10 Americans in that same survey mistakenly believe that protecting gays and transgenders from workplace discrimination is already federal law. Most did not know whether their state has such a law.

In fact, 29 states have no laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, and in 34 states have none that do so based on gender identity. Results? LGBT people face discrimination on the jobs, including being fired, denied promotions and being harassed without recourse. And there is plenty of evidence that the nation is awash in such discrimination.

The federal legislation would end most public and private employers from discriminating against workers because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill was introduced this time around in the Senate by Democrats Jeff Merkley of Oregon (a long-time backer of ENDA), Tom Harkin of Iowa and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin together with Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Mark Kirk of Illinois. In the House, the sponsors are Democratic Rep. Jared Polis of Colorado and Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida:



“Across our country, LGBT Americans face the daily fear of losing their jobs and livelihood simply because of who they are or who they love,” Polis said. “Dedicated individuals should be judged based on their work, nothing more and nothing less. I am proud to reintroduce the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) with Representative Ros-Lehtinen and so many of our colleagues in the House of Representatives. We will work together to see the federal workplace protections in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act passed into law.” [...] “Discrimination is just plain wrong. It is shocking that there is still anywhere in America where it is legal to fire someone for their sexual orientation or gender identity,” Merkley said. “Americans understand that it’s time to make sure our LGBT friends and family are treated fairly and have the same opportunities as all Americans. Now it’s time for our laws to catch up. People should be judged at work on their ability to do the job, period.”

Businesses with fewer than 15 employees are exempt from the bill's provisions. And so are organizations that are already exempt from Title VII’s prohibition on religious discrimination.

Please read more about ENDA below the fold.