Yesterday, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass) re-introduced the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (“ENDA”) in the U.S. House of Representatives. As you may recall, the ENDA would prohibit discrimination in employment based on an applicant’s or employee’s sexual orientation or gender identity. If passed, the ENDA would create an additional protected class of employees. Many states already have similar laws, but Florida is not one of them.
The ENDA, along with several other proposed bills, was big news back when President Obama first took office, as most experts expected the democratically-controlled Congress to institute sweeping employment law changes. You can view one of our old newsletters on this topic here.
Fast-forward a couple of years, and Congress’ landscape has already changed. Though the ENDA has been a major priority for civil rights groups for years, and though some reports have public support of the ENDA listed as high as 90%, with Republicans in control of the House the bill isn’t likely to garner much attention or support at this time. Still, we will keep an eye on it and let you know if it does pass.