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.

The following can be attributed to Christopher Anders, ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel:

“If passed, ENDA would be the first-ever federal law to protect and promote workplace equality for everyone by enacting civil rights protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. Employment discrimination can have a devastating effect on LGBT Americans and the families they support.  Particularly in this bad economy, it is important to protect the right of all Americans to earn a living free from discrimination.

“With ENDA now pending in both the House and Senate, and with a pro-LGBT majority in Congress and a pro-ENDA president in the White House, we have an unprecedented opportunity to protect the rights of all Americans at work. We urge both chambers to pass ENDA quickly and send it to the president’s desk for signature.”

A copy of an ACLU report, Working in the Shadows: Ending Employment Discrimination for LGBT Americans,” documenting widespread discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers is available at http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/discrim/31836pub20070917.html.