Beware Your Job If You Are Gay in the US

January 19, 2010

 

In 29 states in the US, it is still legal for employers to fire employees for being gay, something gay rights groups hope will end in 2010.

Gay rights groups in the USA will this year attempt to persuade Congress to pass a bill that would prohibit employers from releasing workers from their jobs due to their sexual orientation.

Not before has the circumstances within the US government seemed better to have the Employment Non Discrimination Act enacted, as to avoid LGBT members of the public from losing their jobs because of their sexuality and nothing else.

Rea Carey from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force said: "I think it's particularly poignant that this comes at a time when the nation is facing such a crisis in unemployment. Each day that a job is lost because of prejudice compounds the problem."

With the current Democrat majority in both houses of the US government, gay rights activist are optimistic about the possibility of the bill being enacted. Making things even better is the fact that there already nearly 200 co-sponsors in the House with Democrat Ted Kaufman and Republican Mike Castle among the group.

Senator Castle said: "I think essentially it's a civil rights action for all Americans. I think that people should be entitled to work and shouldn't be discriminated against based on the obvious things: race, gender, religion, national origin, disability or sexual orientation."

If passed all companies with 15 or more employees can’t fire or refuse to promote workers purely based on them being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The legislation does however exclude the military and religious organisations and companies with less than 15 employees.

Nicole Theis, an opponent of the current non-discrimination drive from the Family Policy Council said: "I just don't think the issue is job discrimination," she said. "I think it's whether private businesses will be forced by law to accommodate homosexual activists' attempts to legitimize homosexual behavior."

If the current bill is enacted, it will provide job security for lesbian and gay men and women in the 29 states where they do not currently enjoy the protection with 38 states then having to provide protection to transgender men and women.

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