This month, the federal government implemented a new policy that bans employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Job descriptions for employment in the federal government will now have an expanded Equal Employment Opportunity law which states:
Believe it or not, this is a big step forward. It was only in 2005 that Maine provided legal recourse for citizens who faced discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Maine is only part of a handful of states that provide such a protection. Ian Thompson from the ACLU Washington Legislative Office wrote on the ACLU’s Blog of Rights that “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.” The federal government has taken a big step by making this change to their equal employment opoprtunity law and adding it not only to its handbook of policies, but to their employment website. According to the New York Times, “When the administration foreshadowed the change back in June, it was thought the guidelines would be in an updated federal handbook for managers and supervisors. Their inclusion instead in the equal-employment opportunity notices on www.usajobs.gov, the federal jobs site, was viewed as even more significant.”
While posting the EEO law on usajobs.gov website is significant in some ways, it would be even more significant if Congress would pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, to make laws like the ones we have in Maine exist across the country, which you can learn more about by clicking here.
After that, maybe we can also eliminate Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act, so that all LGBT Americans can not only feel secure in their jobs, but also serve in our military and marry the people they love.
