Newsflash on Sexual Orientation Discrimination
There is still no federal law making discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation unlawful. Congress has had a bill before it that would do this for a long time, but it’s never passed. Is it getting close to passage now? If passed, can it survive a presidential veto? Check out the latest from washingtonpost.com:
Lawmakers vote to protect gay, lesbian workers
Stay tuned for further developments.
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About Chris Parker
Chris Parker's practice focuses on the representation and counseling of companies in matters pertaining to the workplace and the protection of their intellectual property and trade secrets. In addition to serving as an advocate for clients, Mr. Parker is also trained as a mediator and frequently serves as a third-party neutral.
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Jimmy Daniel provides counseling to businesses of all sizes related to the employment relationship. He assists in the drafting of employment agreements, policies, and handbooks, as well as provides guidance related to compliance with federal, state, and local legislation such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act.
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While serving in an Of Counsel relationship with the firm, Mr. Bridgesmith also serves as the Executive Director at the Institute for Conflict Resolution at Lipscomb University and as an officer and principal in Strategic Resolutions Group, LLC. In these roles, Mr. Bridgesmith brings over 30 years of legal experience in dispute resolution and innovative workplace strategies to clients, students and business entities alike.
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Doubtful that this will pass any time soon. there are still too many stigmas attached to sexual orientation in our culture in the U.S. It boils down to regardless of your status, discrimination of any kind should be illegal. It doesn’t matter your race, age, gender, lifestyle choices etc…. to be able to do your job.
Thanks for your input. You’re probably right–for the time being. I do think it will be interesting to see if this bill finally gains sufficient traction if a Democrat is in the White House in ‘09 and there is a larger Democratic majority in both houses of Congress.
I see it happening soon. It just passed the House, with many Republican votes. Would have been even bigger majority, but some Dems protested lack of inclusion of transgender. Push come to shove, most Dems in senate will drop that and support a sexual-orientation only bill. Stigma is rapidly vanishing among younger generations.
Still seems to me it won’t happen until after ‘08 elections. There is growing support, however.