No executive order on contractor nondiscrimination, White House says |
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Seattle Gay News
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posted Friday, April 13, 2012 - Volume 40 Issue 15 No executive order on contractor nondiscrimination, White House saysby Mike Andrew - SGN Staff Writer President Obama will not issue an executive order requiring companies that do business with the federal government to promise not to discriminate against LGBT workers. The announcement, however, came not from the White House, but from HRC president Joe Solmonese. 'Earlier today, we were told that the administration is not ready to move forward with a federal contractor nondiscrimination executive order at this time,' Solmonese said on April 11. 'We are extremely disappointed with this decision and will continue to advocate for an executive order from the president. The unfortunate truth is that hard-working Americans can be fired simply for being Gay or Transgender. Given the number of employees that would be covered by this executive order, it represents a critical step forward.' According to HRC spokesperson Paul Guequierre, the idea for the executive order originated with HRC and was pushed by them and other activist groups, but the Obama administration had made no commitment one way or the other about signing the order. The White House declined to comment publicly on the executive order proposal. A senior administration official did tell Metro Weekly that the HRC report was true. 'While it is not our usual practice to discuss executive orders that may or may not be under consideration, we do not expect that an executive order on LGBT non-discrimination for federal contractors will be issued at this time,' the unidentified official said. 'We support legislation that has been introduced and we will continue to work with congressional sponsors to build support for it.' Obama has endorsed ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act) and urged Congress to pass it. Because ENDA uses federal regulation of interstate commerce to ban all discrimination against LGBT workers, its scope is much broader than the executive order urged by HRC, and if it passes, an order from the president would be unnecessary. According to Center for American Progress executive vice president Winnie Stachelberg, 'The White House will instead launch a multipronged effort to better address workplace discrimination against Gay and Transgender Americans.' Stachelberg nevertheless called the president's decision not to issue an executive order 'disappointing.' 'Just as Congress should pass ENDA now, the president should now use his executive authority to extend existing nondiscrimination requirements of federal contractors to include sexual orientation and gender identity,' Stachelberg said. Several activist organizations agreed that an executive order could be an important stopgap measure to deal with anti-LGBT discrimination until ENDA is passed. 'While we all continue to work towards federal employment protections through legislation, we know the need is immediate and the president can take action now to protect LGBT workers across the country,' National Gay and Lesbian Task Force executive director Rea Carey said. 'Federal contractors receive billions of dollars from federal taxpayers every year and an executive order would extend LGBT-inclusive employment protections to millions of workers.' 'The unfortunate truth is that hard-working Americans can be fired simply for being Gay or Transgender. Given the number of employees that would be covered by this executive order, it represents a critical step forward,' the HRC said in a statement. 'Ten years of HRC's Corporate Equality Index, as well as the research of our partner organizations to include the Center for American Progress and the Williams Institute, demonstrate that there is ample rationale for this kind of order. 'No similar executive order has ever had this kind of extensive research or factual basis established. While we believe that further study is unnecessary, we will continue to engage with the administration to ensure that the case is made even stronger for workplace protections.' |
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