365Gay.Com

Gay Civil Rights Group Gears Up For Labor Day Push
by Doreen Brandt
365Gay.com Newscenter in Washington

August 27, 2002

(Washington) One of the largest gay rights organizations in America is targeting the plight of gays and lesbians in the workforce.

The Human Rights Campaign said Monday that the civil rights of gays are constantly ignored.

"As the country commemorates Labor Day, a time to honor the American work force, it is important to remember that a significant number of American labourers go to work each day with the threat of discrimination hanging over them," said HRC Field Director Seth Kilbourn.

Currently, in 38 states, it is still legal to fire a gay or lesbian employee based solely on their sexual orientation.

Called "Labour Day 2002: Equality Works!" HRC is mounting a major offensive to get the Employment Non-Discrimination Act passed.

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. ENDA would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

The organization is calling on people to contact their members of Congress to encourage their support for the legislation.

HRC has also placed advertisements encouraging support of ENDA in six targeted states, Ohio, Nevada, Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, and Indiana, each of which is represented by at least one undecided senator. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., has announced his intention to vote on ENDA before the end of the session.

Many companies, including most of the Fortune 500, have already added sexual orientation to their non-discrimination policies even though they were under no legal obligation to do so.

"Non-discrimination policies are not only the right thing to do, they also make sense from a practical stand point," said HRC Senior Policy Advocate Christopher Labonte.

"Keeping discrimination out of the workplace is an employee morale issue. Productivity and staff retention both improve when people are no longer forced to work under clouds of discrimination," said Labonte.