Inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act introduced for first time in Senate

[Shana A]

Inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act introduced for first time in Senate
August 14, 6:42 PM Sonoma County Civil Rights Examiner Megan Coffey

http://www.examiner.com/x-18104-Sonoma-County-Civil-Rights-Examiner~y2009m8d14-Inclusive-Employment-NonDiscrimination-Act-introduced-for-first-time-in-Senate

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 (ENDA) aims to eliminate that type of discrimination throughout the country. If passed, ENDA would add real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of categories—which already includes race, sex, religion, national origin, age and disability—legally prohibited from being the sole basis for an individual's being fired, denied employment or denied promotion.

An ENDA inclusive of trangender protections comes as welcome progress after 2007's doomed gay-only version of ENDA, which stripped gender identity language to garner more votes in the House of Representatives, despite the certainty of a Bush veto even if it passed. Many gay rights groups protested the non-inclusive bill at the time, seeing it as a betrayal of transgender allies and a rejection of LGBT solidarity.