Assistant AG Perez Testifies Before Congress on ENDA

11/05/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Today, the Assistant Attorney General of the United States, Thomas E. Perez, testified with regards to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA. Mr. Perez heads up the Civil Rights Division. According to him, ” Our mission is clear: to uphold and protect the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable among us. We seek to advance this Nation’s long struggle to embrace the principle so eloquently captured by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that persons should be judged based on ‘content of their character,’ and not on their race, color, sex, national origin, religion or any other irrelevant factors.”

The push for ENDA is one that has been long ongoing. Like the passage of the Matthew Shepard Act, the move to provide employment protections for lesbians, gays, and transpeople is one that has had its ups and downs. ENDA was first introduced in 1994.

“No American should be denied a job or the opportunity to earn promotions, pay raises and other benefits of employment because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity, which have no bearing on work performance. No one should be fired because he or she
is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender,” Mr. Perez stated.

In many ways, ENDA would simply add to the protections already garnered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That law, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by Lyndon Johnson, has granted rights to people based upon race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Title VII makes it illegal to fire anyone who is of those categories. ENDA would simply extend those protections to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transpeople.

According to Mr. Perez, nearly one million LGBT citizens work in a variety of government jobs across the country, and another seven million in private sector jobs, and discrimination is rampant. Twenty-nine states provide no protection when it comes to employment.

The last of the big non-discrimination laws was the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Mr. Perez went on to detail three cases of discrimination with regards to sexual orientation, including a police officer who was assaulted by another officer who had come out as gay.

One question that Mr. Perez did not address was whether or not this law would impact Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, a law which is, in and of itself, discriminatory.

Mr. Perez concluded his testimony with “Lastly, there is nothing to suggest that ENDA will burden employers, unleash a flood of
complaints that would threaten to overwhelm the EEOC or the Department of Justice, or clog the federal courts. On the contrary, the experience of states and local governments with sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination statutes for decades demonstrates that complaints under these statutes make up a relatively small portion of total employment discrimination complaints.”

Laws like ENDA typically protect those who are the most vulnerable to discrimination. It does not end discrimination entirely, but does help to damp down the problem.

The current bill, which was submitted by Representative Barney Frank includes gender orientation.