Bill Would Enshrine Into Law Protections for LGBT Feds

Gay and transgender federal employees would be protected by law from workplace discrimination under a bipartisan bill introduced in the House on Thursday.

While there are current policies prohibiting discrimination against federal employees based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, the legislation would codify those protections by amending Title 5 of the U.S. Code. “I’m proud of the important strides our nation has made toward equality and overcoming discrimination, but we cannot simply rest on our laurels or believe our job is done,” said Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who introduced the bill. “Where possible, Congress should enshrine civil rights protections in law to ensure they cannot be overturned with the stroke of a pen.”

Reps. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and Richard Hanna, R-N.Y., are co-sponsors of the legislation.

The bill, dubbed the Clarification of Federal Employment Protections Act, would amend Section 2302(b)(1) of Title 5, which prohibits discrimination against federal employees or any applicant for federal employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status or political affiliation. Duckworth’s bill would add to that list a prohibition on discriminating against that group “on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.” Amending the law would strengthen protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender federal workers, the bill’s sponsors said.

“These practices have been followed for some time, but because the protections are not enshrined in law, LGBT federal employees still face uncertainty in the workplace and could be terminated subject to new interpretation,” Hanna said.

A 2014 report from the Merit Systems Protection Board found that just 2 percent of federal employees said they were discriminated against in the workplace due to sexual orientation. About 6 percent of feds said they saw discrimination based on sexual orientation at their office, but it did not affect them personally. But MSPB also said the lack of statutory recourse in that area was problematic.

The federal government created “prohibited personnel practices” in 1978, and began interpreting the ban against discrimination to include sexual orientation in 1980. President Bill Clinton in 1998 issued an executive order that more clearly prohibited prejudice in the federal workplace on the basis of sexual orientation, but he clearly stated he did not have the authority to grant certain legal protections, such as the right to take complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The 2002 Notification and Federal Employees Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act, or No-FEAR Act, requires agencies to inform workers of their rights to combat discrimination in all areas except sexual orientation.

Eric Katz contributed to this report.