Tag Archives: Topic: Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)

Buzz Feed: Advocates — and the bill’s lead sponsor — had hoped the chairman would consider the bill, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, in his committee in May or June. It won’t happen until “probably after the Fourth of July break,” Iowa’s Tom Harkin says.

ACLU: As it stands, ENDA’s religious exemption could provide those same religiously affiliated organizations–again, not just houses of worship–with a blank check to engage in employment discrimination against LGBT people.

Washington Post: Senator Jeff Merkley, one of the lead sponsors of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, says he intends to introduce ENDA on Thursday, along with several other Republican and Democratic co-sponsors. ENDA would federally prohibit discrimination in hiring on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and it has remained bottled up in Congress for a very long time.

Washington Blade: A total of 110 U.S. House members have signed a letter calling on President Obama to take action to protect LGBT workers from discrimination — although the letter has the notable absence of members of Democratic leadership and Republican lawmakers.

Washington Blade: A bipartisan group of nine senators is backing the idea of having the Senate panel with jurisdiction over the Employment Non-Discrimination Act advance the legislation to the floor by a committee vote.

Religion Clause Blog: On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions held a hearing on “Equality At Work: The Employment Non-Discrimination Act” (full text of witness statements and video of full hearing). The bill, S. 811 . . .

NY Times: President Obama disappointed and vexed gay supporters on Wednesday with his decision, conveyed to activists by a senior adviser, not to sign an executive order banning discrimination by employers with federal contracts.

ADF attorney Kevin Theriot at the Speak Up Movement Church Blog: If passed, ENDA would add “sexual orientation” to the list of characteristics upon which an employer cannot discriminate. This is unlikely to have much direct effect on churches . . . But it could affect them indirectly if they have separate ministries such as schools or day care facilities that are not expressly religious and all employees are not required to subscribe to church doctrine . . .

Top Legal Issues That Concern Churches – Issue #4 Church Autonomy
Top Legal Issues that Concern Churches – Issue #3 Other Taxes
Top Legal Issues That Concern Churches – Issue #2 Property Taxes
Top Legal Issues That Concern Churches – Issue #1 Land Use

LifeSiteNews: A bill that would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited grounds of discrimination in the workplace is due to be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, although its primary supporter doubts the latest attempt will succeed.

OneNewsNow: “According to open homosexual Congressman Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), there is ‘zero chance’ that Congress will do anything on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). He says the focus will be on repealing ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ But the Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) has warned since last May that returning Democrats would try to pass ENDA and other controversial measures after the November 2 midterm elections.”

The Hill: “Gay-rights activists say they are resigned to the fact that the House will not vote before the midterm elections — and perhaps not this year — on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a bill adding workplace protections for sexual orientation and gender identity.”

Catch or Release? The Employment Non-Discrimination Act’s Exemption for Religious Organizations
August 31, 2010
Steven H. Aden, Stanley Carlson-Thies, 11 Engage 4 (Sept. 2010)

The “Employment Non-Discrimination Act” (“ENDA”) currently under consideration in Congress would in effect expand Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity”(transgender status) to the list of statuses protected under federal law from employment discrimination. ENDA has been introduced in various forms since the 1970s. With the increased strength of Democrats in Congress and the backing of President Barack Obama, ENDA’s prospects for enactment have improved…

Los Angeles Times editorial: “The heated legal and political battle over Proposition 8 might suggest that marriage equality is the last barrier to full participation in society for gays and lesbians. In fact, blatant discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation remains permissible in workplaces across the nation, an injustice Congress must rectify . . . That would change with enactment of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act . . . Democratic leaders in both houses should expedite consideration of the bill as this Congress nears its conclusion. If they don’t, President Obama should press them to act. Gays, lesbians and transgendered employees are still subjected to unequal treatment and harassment. Enacting ENDA is a moral as well as a political imperative.”

“What if Democratic leaders are saving their most controversial issues until after November when voters are powerless to do anything about it? That’s a question more insiders are beginning to ask as big ticket legislation on spending, the military, global warming and campaign finance sit curiously idle.”

Christian Post: “On the closing day of their annual meeting, Southern Baptists approved resolutions denouncing those responsible for the massive gulf oil spill, opposing pro-gay legislations, and lamenting the ‘scandal of Southern Baptist divorce.’ . . . ‘The Bible describes homosexual behavior as both a contributing cause and a consequence of God’s judgment on nations and individuals,’ it states, according to Associated Baptist Press.”

Keen News Service: “Only one question this year: Besides the measures on the House and Senate Defense authorization bills to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, name the other 25 LGBT-specific bills pending in Congress right now.”

“U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday said that a vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act wouldn’t take place until Congress completes legislative action on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’”

Catholic Culture quoting the USCCB letter: “These rulings also reflect a legal strategy that gay rights advocates have repeatedly and publicly explained in scholarly articles and other media—first, secure the passage of sexual orientation antidiscrimination laws, such as ENDA, and then invoke the principle embedded within those laws as a basis for same-sex ‘marriage.’”

One News Now: “There is a slim possibility that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) could come up for a vote this week — perhaps as soon as Wednesday . . . ”

Washington Post: “Proponents of a bill known as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would provide job protections for gay and transgender workers, are actively taking a whip count to see whether the measure has enough support for floor action. The legislation is unnerving moderate and conservative Democrats who face brutal reelection battles . . . ”

Peter Sprigg writes at the Washington Times: “The House of Representatives may act soon on a bill to marginalize and stigmatize Americans who disapprove of homosexual conduct. H.R. 3017, known as ENDA, seeks to give homosexuals (and the government) the right to sue employers, based on the theory that being gay is like being black (even though homosexuality is a matter of conduct, not race), female (even though homosexuals were never denied the right to vote), or religious (even though sexual preferences are not in the Constitution) . . . ”

CBN News: Attorney [Austin R. Nimocks] with the The Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian non-profit organization, argues that Christian businesses . . . have every reason to be concerned. ‘A law that would require an organization to retain employees who don’t fulfill that organization’s mission is a dangerous law,’ he said. ‘It’s like requiring an environmental group to fill up its board with a bunch of lumberjacks or requiring a Democratic senator to hire a bunch of Republican staffers.’”

CitizenLink: “There’s a renewed effort in Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). [Tim Tracey], legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, said HR 3017 would give sexual orientation and gender identity protected-class status. ‘It sets the statement that sexual orientation and gender identity are compelling interests, that those should override the religious freedom and free speech rights of religious individuals,’ he explained.”

ADF Attorney Steve Aden, writing at The Federalist Society: “[I]t is a significant burden on a religious organization to require it, on pain of substantial liability, to predict which of its activities a secular court will consider religious. The line is hardly a bright one, and an organization might understandably be concerned that a judge would not understand its religious tenets and sense of mission. Fear of potential liability might affect the way an organization carried out what it understood to be its religious mission. Non-profit religious corporations assert this burden is difficult to bear, and is magnified greatly by the approach of some courts in treating the constitutional defense to a Title VII suit against a religious organization as a matter for proof on the merits rather than a jurisdictional issue. By expanding Title VII and yet relying solely on Title VII’s existing religious organization definition, ENDA could thus lead to a substantial increase in litigation.”

Doug Carlson writes at the The Ethics and Religious Liberty Comission blog: “Our nation will give special emphasis this week to a constitutional protection and timeless right conferred to us by God: religious liberty. President Obama will set aside Jan. 16 as Religious Freedom Day, continuing an annual tradition begun in 1993 to commemorate the 1786 passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, a forerunner to the First Amendment right to freedom of religion. As we begin 2010, it is fitting that we pause to take inventory of our religious freedom. In short, our “first freedom” has fallen on hard times. Consider its weakening condition over the last 12 months.”

Arizona Republic: “Gay-rights groups believe 2010 will be the year they finally persuade Congress to pass a landmark law protecting workers from being fired or denied jobs or promotions because of their sexual orientation. With Democrats in the majority in the House and Senate and President Barack Obama promising to sign the bill, this is the best chance for victory that supporters of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act have ever had, said Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force . . . After delays last year that frustrated gay-rights leaders, the lead sponsors of the bill say they expect a vote in the House in the first quarter of this year.”

Confessions of the Church: Discriminatory Practices by Religious Employers and Justifications for a More Narrow Exception
Jessica R. Vartanian, 40 U. Tol. L. Rev. 1049 (2009)

“This note is not meant in any way to discount or undermine the beneficial role of religion in America, and its purpose is not to criticize religious employers for making personnel decisions based on religious doctrine or belief. Rather, because employment discrimination is one of the great evils that plague our society, courts should hold religious employers accountable for their discriminatory employment actions absent evidence of a religious motivation.”

Washington Blade: “U.S. House committee has set Wednesday as the day it will vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act . . . ”

Catholic News Agency: “A law professor [Chai Feldblum] nominated by President Obama to become a commissioner for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was a signatory to a radical 2006 manifesto which endorsed polygamous households and argued traditional marriage should not be privileged ‘above all others.’”

“It is the keystone that holds up the whole bunch, and so we need to focus our energies and attention there’ . . .”

House Committee on Ed. and Labor: “The House Committee on Education and Labor has published this list. Janet Parshall appears to be the only conservative.”

Committee on Education & Labor: “U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today announced that on Wednesday, September 23, he will hold the first full committee hearing in the House of Representatives on legislation to prohibit employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Christian Post: “A bill that could force religious groups to hire gay employees will be debated in Congress when lawmakers return from their summer recess. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is a proposed bill in the U.S. Congress that would make it illegal for employers to make decisions on hiring, firing, promoting or paying an employee based on sexual orientation.”

“The bill has been changed from the ‘gay-only’ version the House passed in 2007 to include language banning job discrimination based on ‘gender identity’ as well as sexual orientation.”

Washington Blade: “A revised version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that includes protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people is expected to be unveiled Wednesday. U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and other members of Congress were slated to gather Wednesday for a press conference at the Rayburn House Office Building to discuss the federal measure.”

“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors supports marriage equality for same-sex couples, and the recognition and extension of full equal rights to such unions . . . ”

Chelsea Schilling reports at WorldNetDaily: “The White House has scrubbed President Obama’s central pledge to the homosexual community from its website – his promise to quash the federal Defense of Marriage Act.”

Dallas Voice: “Openly gay U.S. Rep. Jared Polis has set some ambitious goals for his first term in Congress, including passage of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, a repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and the addition of domestic partner benefits …

The new Administration wasted no time overhauling the White House website.

365Gay.com reports: “President-elect Barack Obama has laid out his commitment to LGBT civil rights in an eight-point plan posted on his transition Web site. It calls for passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act; a gender-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act; …

“ADF is ready to go to court to fight a vast number of leftist policies promised by the new administration and Congress,” said ADF Chief Counsel Benjamin Bull.

The Washington Blade reports: “American Airlines, one of the world’s largest airlines, has written Congress a letter endorsing the Employee Nondiscrimination Act, according to a press release.”

The LA Times has posted this editorial titled: Act on gay rights bill. It begins: In light of the illness of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), Democratic leaders in the Senate have indicated that they will not bring up a …

NJ.com reports on the hearings and include this excerpt: . . . Some employers would have trouble accommodating transgender employees because of their own religious objections and other employees’ privacy concerns in restrooms, said Glen Lavy, senior counsel for the …

For the first time a House subcommittee has heard firsthand of widespread discrimination against transgender men and women.

. . . the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) would mandate that employers accept gays and lesbians into the workplace regardless of the organization’s moral beliefs . . .

Jim Brown reports at OneNewsNow:

Transgender activists will descend on Capitol Hill next month to lobby members of Congress to include “gender identity and expression” in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

ADF has forwarded a memo to Rep. John Kline, U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, urging rejection of ENDA.

That is the title of this post over at the CLS blog. CLS is also reporting on a new article by Professor Carl Esbeck: When Accommodations for Religion Violate the Establishment Clause: Regularizing the Supreme Court’s Analysis.

Over on the CLS Blog,