The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

On June 24, 1999 the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), was introduced jointly in the House (H.R. 2355) and Senate (S. 1276) by Senators Kennedy (D-MA), Jeffords (R-VT), and Lieberman (D-CT), and Representatives Shays (R-CT) and Frank (D-MA). The sponsors held a press conference to announce its introduction and to call upon Congress to pass meaningful legislation protecting gays and lesbians in the workplace.

If passed, ENDA would extend federal employment protections which currently bar discrimination based on race, religion, gender, national origin, age and disability to sexual orientation. The bill would prohibit employers from using an individual's sexual orientation as the basis for employment decisions, such as hiring, firing, promotion or compensation. Only 11 states currently have laws barring job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Consistent with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ENDA does not cover small businesses with fewer than 15 employees. Religious organizations, including educational institutions substantially controlled or supported by religious organizations would also be exempt from ENDA. Under the proposed ENDA bill, preferential treatment and quotas are explicitly forbidden and affirmative action programs could not be imposed as a remedy.

ENDA was first introduced in 1994, and in 1996 the legislation reached a near victory in the Senate, coming within one vote of passage. Since then, support for ENDA's goal of nondiscrimination has been building across the nation- from the halls of Congress, to corporate boardrooms, to communities of faith and the American public. Poll after poll demonstrates that ENDA enjoys the support of more than two-thirds of the American public, including a solid majority of Republican voters. In addition, ENDA has been endorsed by dozens of corporations, including AOL, AT&T, Bell Atlantic, Eastman Kodak, Merrill Lynch, The Prudential Insurance Company, The Quaker Oats Company and Xerox.

The number of co-sponsors of ENDA is also growing. The bill this year has 166 co-sponsors in the House (up from 157 in the 105th Congress), and 36 co-sponsors in the Senate, (up from 35 in the 105th Congress). ENDA supporters believe that this legislation will be passed with bi-partisan support before the 106th Congress adjourns at the end of 2000.

For more information visit the Leadership Conference website at: www.civilrights.org

To view the Employment Non-Discrimination Act go to http://thomas.loc.gov/ and search by bill number using either S. 1276 or H.R. 2355.