Employment Non-Discrimination Act
H.R. 2015, H.R. 3685
The Problem
Qualified, hardworking Americans are denied job opportunities, fired or otherwise discriminated against for reasons that have nothing to do with their performance and abilities. Employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity and expression, whether such orientation is real or perceived, effectively denies qualified individuals equality and opportunity in the workplace. Those who experience this form of discrimination have no recourse under current federal law or under the Constitution as it has been interpreted by the courts.
Employment discrimination strikes at a fundamental American value – the right of each individual to do his or her job and contribute to society without facing unfair discrimination. Fairness in the workplace has been recognized as a fundamental right protected under federal law. Currently, federal law provides basic legal protection against employment discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion, national origin or disability, but not sexual orientation or gender identity and gender expression.
What is the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, H.R. 2015?
H.R. 2015 is a federal bill that would address discrimination in the workplace by making it illegal to fire, refuse to hire or refuse to promote employees simply based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It would reinforce the principle that employment decisions should be based upon a person’s qualifications and job performance.
What is H.R. 3685?
Unlike H.R. 2015, H.R. 3685 would only bar discrimination based on sexual orientation, not gender identity.
What ENDA Does
- Extends federal employment discrimination protections currently provided based on race, religion, sex, national origin, age and disability to sexual orientation and gender identity
- Prohibits public and private employers, employment agencies and labor unions from using an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity as the basis for employment decisions, such as hiring, firing, promotion or compensation
- Provides for the same procedures, and similar, but somewhat more limited, remedies as are permitted under Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act
- Applies to Congress and the federal government, as well as employees of state and local governments
What ENDA Does Not Do
- Cover businesses with fewer than 15 employees
- Apply to religious organizations
- Apply to the uniformed members of the armed forces (the bill doesn’t affect the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy)
- Allow for quotas or preferential treatment based on sexual orientation or gender identity
- Allow a "disparate impact" claim similar to the one available under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Therefore, an employer is not required to justify a neutral practice that may have a statistically disparate impact on individuals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity
- Allow the imposition of affirmative action for a violation of ENDA
- Allow the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to collect statistics on sexual orientation or gender identity or compel employers to collect such statistics.
- Apply retroactively
What about State Laws?
In 31 states, it is legal to fire someone based on their sexual orientation. In 39 states, it is legal to do so based on gender identity.
What about Corporate America?
Partly due to HRC’s efforts, non-discrimination policies covering gender identity continue to rise. For example, as of November 2007, over thirty percent of Fortune 500 companies include transgender people in their policies. This is more then 10 times the number that had such policies in 2001, when eight Fortune 500 companies had the policy. In addition, exactly 49 of the Fortune 50 companies include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies. Exxon Mobil Corp. is the only company in the Fortune 50 that does not. In fact, nearly 90 percent of companies in the Fortune 500 include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies as of November 2007.
What is the Current Status of the Bill?
Reps. Barney Frank, D-Mass.; Deborah Pryce, R-Ohio; Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; and Christopher Shays, R-Conn., introduced H.R. 2015, in the U.S. House of Representatives on April 24, 2007. On September 5, 2007, the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and Labor held a hearing on H.R. 2015. Following that hearing, Rep. Frank and the House leadership determined that, unfortunately, there was insufficient support to pass a transgender-inclusive version of ENDA. Rep. Frank subsequently introduced a version of ENDA, H.R. 3685, that extends protections based on sexual orientation, but not gender identity. On October 18, 2007, the full Committee on Education and Labor voted, 27-21, to send H.R. 3685 to the full House for a vote. On November 7, 2007, the House passed H.R. 3685 by a vote of 235-184, the first time a version of ENDA has passed either chamber of Congress.
- HRC’s press release on ENDA’s introduction in Congress
- Statements of support for ENDA
- Most recent ENDA developments
Learn More about ENDA
- Employers that support fairness in the workplace and the passage of ENDA
- Timeline: History of ENDA
- Working in the Shadows – stories of GLBT people who have suffered job discrimination
For more information, please contact HRC at legislation@hrc.org.
Learn More about GLBT Workplace Issues
- State of the Workplace for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Americans
- Corporate Equality Index
- Transgender Americans: A Handbook for Understanding
Last Updated: Saturday, August 25, 2007
Last Updated: Saturday, August 25, 2007
