LGBT Rights
There is currently no federal law protecting individuals from job discrimination based on actual or perceived sexual orientation. This means that at any time, someone can be discriminated against, fired or not hired simply because he/she is or is perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.
June 24, 2010 - Posted by Tyler Lewis
The Department of Labor issued new regulations for the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), expanding its coverage to include non-traditional families like same-sex partners who take care of their partner's children and relatives who may care for a niece or nephew or cousin.
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May 28, 2010 - Posted by Tyler Lewis
The United States is moving closer to repealing "Don't Ask Don't Tell" (DADT), a policy that requires lesbian and gay servicemembers to conceal their sexual orientation or face expulsion from the military.
On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted 234-194 to allow the Department of Defense to repeal the policy after the completion of a Pentagon implementation study. The vote came just hours after the Senate Armed Service Committee approved similar legislation by a vote of 16-12.
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May 20, 2010 - Posted by Aaron Gregg
Congress is expected to vote soon on legislation to repeal "Don't Ask Don't Tell," a policy that requires LGBT servicemen and women to conceal their sexual orientation or face expulsion from the military.
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February 3, 2010 - Posted by Alexander Davis
Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, announced yesterday the creation of a working group within the Department of Defense that will evaluate how to implement a full repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the law that requires LGBT servicemen and women to keep their sexual orientation a secret or face discharge.
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January 28, 2010 - Posted by Beth Sadler
A report released this week by The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) found that there were as many pro-LGBT bills passed nationwide in 2009 as there were in 2007 and 2008 combined.
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January 4, 2010 - Posted by Tyler Lewis
 President Obama recently appointed Amanda Simpson, a transgender woman, to be the senior technical adviser to the Department of Commerce.
Simpson – the first ever transgender presidential appointee – will serve in the department's Bureau of Industry and Security. The federal agency enforces sanctions and embargoes on various goods and regulates the export of sensitive technologies, such as software and machinery. Since 9/11, the bureau has made restricting the export of technologies that could be potentially used to create weapons of mass destruction a top priority.
With 30 years of experience working in the aerospace and defense industries, most recently serving as deputy director in advanced technology development at Raytheon Missile Systems, Simpson is exceptionally qualified for the position.
A dedicated civil rights activist, Simpson played a major role in getting Raytheon to include gender identity as part of its equal employment opportunity policy in 2005. She sits on the board of two national organizations, Out & Equal and the National Center for Transgender Equality, a social justice organization dedicated to advancing the equality of transgender people and a member of The Leadership Conference.
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November 11, 2009 - Posted by Adam Lange
Enacting legislation that would prevent employers from discriminating against people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is a top priority for the Obama administration, according to Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general, Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
"We cannot in good conscience stand by and watch unjustifiable discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals occur in the workplace without redress," Perez told members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions at a hearing last week on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). "We have come too far in our struggle for 'equal justice under the law' to remain silent or stoic."
As head of the Civil Rights Division, Perez oversees the enforcement of federal laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, disability, religion, and national origin, including the Voting Rights Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act.
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