Senate Votes on ENDA

Washington, D.C.  — On Nov. 7, the U.S. Senate voted 64-32 to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

The bill offers protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the workplace. It would prohibit public and private employers, employment agencies and labor unions from using sexual orientation or gender identity as the basis for decisions about employment, promotion or compensation.

Those protections already exist on a federal level based on race, religion, gender, national origin, age or disability. Sexual orientation is protected in 21 states and District of Columbia, but only 17 of those states have similar protections for transgender people.