Home : Lesbian & Gay Rights : Discrimination

House Hears Testimony On Landmark Employment Non-Discrimination Act (09/23/2009)
WASHINGTON – The House Education and Labor Committee heard testimony today on H.R. 3017, a bill that would finally end workplace discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. There is also a version of that bill, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), pending in the Senate. Currently, it remains legal to fire or refuse to hire someone for being lesbian, gay or bisexual in 29 states, while transgender workers can be denied or refused jobs in 38 states. If passed, ENDA would become the first-ever federal ban on employment discrimination of LBGT people in most workplaces.

Legislation Introduced To Repeal Discriminatory Defense Of Marriage Act (09/15/2009)
WASHINGTON - A bill was introduced in the House of Representatives today that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and respect state marriages by providing federal protections for married same-sex couples. DOMA, passed in 1996, authorized discrimination against lawfully married same-sex couples. Today's bill, the Respect for Marriage Act, was introduced by Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and several others.

Lawsuit Challenging Government Funding Of Religious Youth Home To Go Forward (08/31/2009)
Louisville, KY — A federal appeals court ruled today that a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State challenging government funding of a religious group youth home in Kentucky can go forward.

Bill Introduced In Senate Today To Ban Workplace Discrimination Based On Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation (08/05/2009)
WASHINGTON – A bill was introduced in the Senate today that would make workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity illegal. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), would become the first-ever federal ban on employment discrimination of LBGT people in most workplaces.

ACLU of Texas Demands Inquiry on Reported Anti-Gay Discrimination in El Paso Restaurant (07/10/2009)
AUSTIN – The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas Thursday called for an official investigation of the El Paso Police Department response to a June 29 incident when a group of men were reportedly ejected from Chico’s Tacos, an El Paso restaurant, apparently because two of the men kissed each other.

House Bill Announced Today To Ban Workplace Discrimination Based On Gender Or Sexual Orientation (06/24/2009)
WASHINGTON – Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) announced the introduction of a bill today that would make workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity illegal. As a long time defender of the civil rights and civil liberties of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, the American Civil Liberties Union urges Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). If the group of bipartisan co-sponsors, including the Chairmen of the Judiciary and Education and Labor Committees successfully pass this legislation, it would become the first-ever ban on employment discrimination of LBGT people.

Fresno Hospital Bars Lesbian From Visiting Partner And Giving Advice About Her Treatment (06/15/2009)
SAN FRANCISCO – After a lesbian was barred from visiting her partner and giving advice about her treatment at a Fresno hospital, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Center for Lesbian Rights sent a letter to the hospital today urging that it adopt policy changes respecting same-sex relationships.

McDonald’s Agrees To Training and Settlement After Staff Called Gay Customers “Faggots” (05/06/2009)
LOUISVILLE, KY – Nine months after an employee at a McDonald’s restaurant in downtown Louisville called a group of gay customers a series of anti-gay slurs, the American Civil Liberties Union announced today that McDonald’s has agreed to a cash settlement and diversity training for management at 30 of its Louisville-area restaurants.

Federal Court Awards Transgender Veteran Maximum Compensation In Sex Discrimination Case Against Library of Congress (04/29/2009)
WASHINGTON, DC — A federal judge ruled that transgender veteran Diane Schroer is entitled to the maximum compensation for the discrimination she suffered after being refused a job with the Library of Congress. The American Civil Liberties Union brought a sex discrimination lawsuit on behalf of Schroer, a Special Forces veteran who retired after 25 years of service, when she was denied a job after announcing her intention to transition from male to female.

ACLU of Florida Applauds Victory as Gainesville Voters Reject Discriminatory Effort to Remove Gainesville’s Nondiscrimination Protections for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People (03/25/2009)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida applauds Gainesville voters’ overwhelming rejection, 58% to 42%, of an effort by anti-gay crusaders that would have repealed protections against discrimination for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in housing, employment, public accommodation, and credit extension services.

Federal Appeals Court To Hear Challenge To Kentucky Childcare Agency’s ‘Faith-Based’ Bias (03/09/2009)
CINCINNATI, OH - Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union will urge a federal appeals court on Wednesday to uphold the right of taxpayers to challenge public funding of a Baptist childcare agency that proselytizes youngsters in its care and discriminates against gay employees who do not share its belief that homosexuality is sinful.

New Web Campaign, Tell-Three.org, Encourages People to Talk About What it Means to be LGBT (02/03/2009)
NEW YORK – Join the Impact has partnered with other national LGBT groups to develop a web based public education campaign, www.tell-three.org, to encourage LGBT people and their supporters to have three conversations with friends and family to help build support for LGBT equality.

ACLU Commends Obama-Biden Ban on Discrimination Against LGBT Applicants for Jobs in the New Administration (11/07/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union commends the Obama-Biden Transition team for including sexual orientation and gender identity in its non-discrimination policy as it prepares to assume power in January. Although President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 11478, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, there are no explicit federal protections from gender identity bias in government hiring.

Gay Customers Called "Faggots" By Kentucky McDonald's Staff (09/16/2008)
LOUISVILLE, KY -- After an employee at a McDonald's restaurant in downtown Louisville called a group of gay customers a series of anti-gay slurs, the American Civil Liberties Union is representing two of the customers in filing an official complaint with the city. Louisville law bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

ACLU Calls On Governor Jindal To Renew Employment Protections (08/25/2008)
NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has stated his intention to end the state's policy of prohibiting discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation and political beliefs in state employment and contracting. By doing so, he will strip lesbians and gay men from civil rights protections that have been in effect since 2004, and will also deprive state employees of protection on the basis of political beliefs. The ACLU of Louisiana calls on Gov. Bobby Jindal to protect the employment rights of Louisianans by renewing Executive Order 2004-54, signed by Gov. Kathleen Blanco.

Lesbian Appeals Firing From Publicly-Funded Baptist Group Home In Kentucky (07/17/2008)
The American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a brief today in a federal appeals court urging the court to allow a discrimination lawsuit to go forward on behalf of a lesbian who was fired from her job at a publicly-funded Baptist group home in Kentucky. The home for vulnerable children required the woman to observe its religious belief that being a lesbian is sinful. The brief also charges that taxpayers should be able to challenge the state of Kentucky's decision to give public funds to a home that imposes its religious beliefs upon the children in its care.

Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Decorated Air Force Major Discharged on Grounds of Sexual Orientation (05/21/2008)
SEATTLE–The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today reinstated a lawsuit challenging the dismissal of Major Margaret Witt, a decorated U.S. Air Force flight nurse, on grounds that she engaged in homosexual conduct. The ACLU is representing Major Witt in appealing a lower court ruling that rejected the suit in July 2006.

After Pressure From ACLU, Gay Georgia Man Allowed To Join State Insurance Plan (03/04/2008)
ATLANTA — After pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union, Georgia's Commissioner of Insurance has agreed to allow Jon Lawson, a gay man, to purchase health insurance through a state plan designed to help people who are uninsured. Although the plan only requires that an applicant is insured for 18 months before joining the plan, Commissioner John Oxendine's office rejected Lawson's application, claiming that he was ineligible because had been covered as a domestic partner through his previous insurance plan.

ACLU Challenges Dismissal of Lesbian Major From Air Force (11/05/2007)
SAN FRANCISCO -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today will hear oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging the dismissal of a decorated U.S. Air Force flight nurse on the grounds that she engaged in homosexual conduct. The ACLU is representing Major Margaret Witt in her appeal of a lower court rejection of the lawsuit she filed in 2006.

House Committee Advances ENDA Legislation that Splits LGBT Community, ACLU Urges One Bill for One Community (10/18/2007)
WASHINGTON – The House Committee on Education and Labor today passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a bill the ACLU cannot support because it abandons the transgender community. The first iteration of ENDA this session would have made it illegal to discriminate in the workplace based on sexual orientation and gender identity, but the bill that passed out of committee today would allow transgender workers to suffer from discrimination at work with no protection or recourse.