Washington, D.C. An executive order signed by President Barack Obama on July 21 prohibits federal contractors from discriminating based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and leaves no exemption for religious groups.
“America’s federal contracts should not subsidize discrimination against the American People,” Obama said during a ceremony at the White House, adding that with the move, “our government will become a little bit fairer.”
Obama had called on Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), legislation that has passed the Senate and would extend employment discrimination protections to all LGBT workers in the private sector. But some LGBT groups abandoned ENDA after concerns stemming from the Supreme Court’s recent Hobby Lobby decision, which allowed that corporation to refuse to provide birth control to employees. The groups said that religious exemptions included in the Senate version could be exploited to still discriminate against LGBT employees.
Obama seemed convinced that signing ENDA was the right thing to do.
“I firmly believe that it’s time to address this injustice for every American,” Obama said, urging gay rights activists to “keep putting pressure on Congress to pass federal legislation that resolves this problem once and for all.”
The president’s executive order does not include any additional exemptions for religious entities, beyond one implemented during President George W. Bush’s administration that allows religiously-affiliated contractors to favor members of their faith when making hiring decisions.
It amends an executive order first issued by Lyndon Johnson, adding sexual orientation and gender identity to a list of protected categories including race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and age.
“We have an obligation to make sure the country we love remains a place where no matter…who you love, you can make it,” Obama said.
President Obama’s executive actions will impact 24,000 companies that employ 28 million workers—a fifth of the nation’s workforce, according to Equality Florida. That organization’s CEO, Nadine Smith, attended the signing at the White House.
“I am proud to stand with President Obama as he signs these orders that will provide essential workplace protections for millions of people,” said Smith in a statement before the ceremony. “This is especially critical for those of us who live in states that lack any statewide laws banning workplace discrimination. Even as make progress toward marriage equality in Florida, we continue the essential work of securing statewide non-discrimination protections so that no one is denied employment based on prejudice.”
Only 18 states and the District of Columbia have laws explicitly protecting LGBT workers from being fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.. According to surveys and studies, more than four in ten LGB people have experienced some form of employment discrimination based on their sexual orientation at some point in their lives, and 90% of transgender employees have experienced harassment, mistreatment or discrimination on the job.
The move is a reverse for Obama, who for months resisted pleas from LGBT rights groups to draft the order. The White House said the president wanted Congress to pass legislation extending anti-discrimination protections to all American workers. But the law stalled in November, when the Republican-controlled House refused to hear it.
“Shockingly enough, the House refused to act,” Obama said an LGBT gala in New York City earlier this month, noting Congress had been “considering legislation to protect LGBT workers for decades.”
Top Republicans, including Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), have called the bill redundant and warned it would cost jobs by creating frivolous litigation.
The president’s aides said the move underscored how the president was willing to act despite congressional obstruction.
“Today’s LGBT employment Executive Order demonstrates once again how a President can change lives for the better with the stroke of a pen,” tweeted senior presidential adviser Dan Pfeiffer.
Anthony D. Romero, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, called the order “one of the most important actions ever taken by a president to eradicate LGBT discrimination from America’s workplaces.”
“While there remains much work still to do to achieve the goal of full civil rights protections for LGBT people, we must take time to celebrate the landmarks along the way, and this is a huge win,” he said.
