Testimony of
Eliza Byard, PhD Executive Director
On behalf of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
On
H.R. 3017, The Employment Non-Discrimination Act
Committee on Education and Labor
United States House of Representatives
Room 2175
Rayburn House Office Building
September 23rd, 2009
Chairman Miller, Ranking Member Klein, and Members of the Committee:
On behalf of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), I am pleased to
submit written testimony expressing our support for H.R. 3019, the Employment NonDiscrimination Act of 2009 (ENDA). We appreciate your addressing this important legislation
that will support workplace fairness for all Americans by addressing the issue of
employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity through today’s
hearing on ENDA. I would like to especially thank Chairman Miller, along with Ranking
Member Kline, for convening this hearing. It is absolutely critical for this Committee and
Congress to address the issue of workplace fairness, and to act decisively to end
employment discrimination by passing ENDA.
Workplace Discrimination Is A Real Problem for Real People
Every year, qualified, hard-working Americans are denied job opportunities, are terminated,
or experience on-the-job discrimination merely because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or
transgender (LGBT). Like other Americans, LGBT people need to work to support
themselves and their families. This kind of discrimination occurs in both public and private
sector workplaces, across a range of types of workplaces, all across the country. Workplace
discrimination threatens the wellbeing and economic survival of workers and their families.
Like other workers, LGBT workers deserve to be judged on their skills and qualifications, on
their work and its merit, not on their sexual orientation or gender identity, factors which are
unrelated to job performance.
GLSEN Supports ENDA and Workplaces Free from Discrimination
GLSEN is the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for
all students. Established nationally in 1995, GLSEN envisions a world in which every child
learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity
and expression. We strive to ensure that each member of every school community is valued
and respected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.
Experience has shown us that, as with all workers, sexual orientation and gender identity
are not related in any way to an educator’s performance in schools. Unfortunately, state and
local governments have engaged in a widespread pattern of discrimination against LGBT
education employees. Throughout our history, GLSEN has worked to support numerous
educators who faced discrimination solely because of their sexual orientation or gender
identity.
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Because LGBT education employees often fear being out in the workplace, have been
reluctant to out themselves further by pursuing complaints, and have faced administrative
courts that have been hostile to their claims; there may be significantly more employment
discrimination against LGBT education employees than the reported cases and surveys
would indicate. Because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity,
educators have been removed from specific teaching or co-curricular responsibilities, of
forced from the classroom and education profession altogether.
In considering discrimination against LGBT education employees, local discrimination cannot
be meaningfully separated from discrimination by state governments; it is part of the same
system of discrimination. Discrimination at the local level is rooted in a history of state
purges of LGBT education employees; a history of state laws specifically prohibiting LGBT
teachers from teaching; state licensing requirements for teachers that included morality
fitness tests that were interpreted to exclude LGBT education employees; and state laws
criminalizing same-sex behavior, including sodomy laws.
GLSEN understands that school employees best serve students when they have workplaces
that are free from discrimination and harassment. GLSEN calls upon public policy makers to
adopt and enforce measurable non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies that include
sexual orientation and gender identity. We urge the Committee to support H.R. 3017, the
Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and to ensure that the U.S. House of Representatives
has the opportunity to vote in favor of this critical legislation.
ENDA’s Provisions: Basic Employment Protections
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would address these issues by prohibiting
discrimination in the workplace based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It
would address discrimination in the workplace by making it illegal to fire, refuse to hire, or
refuse to promote an employee based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
ENDA would make it illegal for employers to discriminate on those bases, including, for
example, by refusing to hire an applicant or firing an employee because of this irrational
bias. There is no legitimate basis for refusing to hire, firing, or otherwise discriminating
against someone simply because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
This legislation closely follows the model of existing federal civil rights laws, including Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and, therefore, it would cover federal, state, and local
governments, unions, employment agencies, and private employers with 15 or more
employees. Small employers with fewer than 15 employees, the U.S. military, and religious
organizations are exempt. Quotas and disparate impact claims are not allowed and the
provision of domestic partner benefits is not required.
Why Is ENDA Needed?
Discrimination against LGBT people is unfortunately all too common. It can take place
anywhere, at many different types of employers, including private employers, local
governments, state governments, and companies large and small. Currently, many of these
employees have no adequate remedy in federal law.
Only 12 states and the District of Columbia currently have laws that specifically ban
workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Another nine
states have laws that ban discrimination based on sexual orientation but do not have clear
gender identity protections. Right now, this patchwork of state and local laws that protect
LGBT people in jurisdictions comprise about 40% of the U.S. population. This means about
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60% of people live in jurisdictions without explicit job protections based on sexual
orientation and gender identity, or with protections that do not protect the LGBT community
comprehensively. A federal law is needed so that workers are not dependent on this
patchwork of state and local laws and have a clear federal remedy for discrimination. ENDA
would provide critically needed job protections for the entire LGBT community – including
those most vulnerable to discrimination. A federal statute is needed to make it clear that
discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is
illegal.
Who Supports ENDA?
In addition to enjoying bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, many of America’s
leading businesses have adopted anti-discrimination policies similar to ENDA’s nondiscrimination provisions. This measure, inclusive of both sexual orientation and gender
identity, enjoys broad coalition support; hundreds of civil rights and faith-based
organizations support the passage of ENDA.
The Committee on Education and Labor Should Act Immediately To Send ENDA To
The Full House
Over the years, Congress has acted with vision and courage to pass laws to ban
discrimination, and foster equal opportunity. ENDA should be enacted in the same spirit and
to accomplish the same goal. It would do nothing more than outlaw unfair action against
people in the workplace motivated by bias. This is a moment of historic opportunity to pass
a measure that would help ensure that qualified individuals can contribute to our nation’s
productivity without regard to their sexual orientation or gender identity. LGBT workers
need this law, and it is time for ENDA to become law, to protect people who need it.
Again, GLSEN thanks Chairman Miller and Ranking Member Kline for this hearing on the
Employment Non-Discrimination Act. We appreciate the Committee’s attention to this issue,
and we urge you to move forward in reporting H.R. 3017 favorably to the full U.S. House of
Representatives. We deeply appreciate your efforts to ensure workplace fairness for all
Americans, and an end to discrimination. If you have any questions, need any further
information, or if there is any other way that GLSEN can be of assistance while you consider
this important legislation, please contact Shawn Gaylord, Director of Public Policy, at
202.621.5815 or sgaylord@GLSEN.org.
Sincerely,
Eliza Byard, PhD Executive Director
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
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