Employment Non-Discrimination Act: Will It Be Helpful or Not?

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act or ENDA is one of the more controversial proposed bills in the United States today. Its goal is to protect employees from discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. Some of the groups that are covered by ENDA include lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders (LGBT). Once this law is enacted, employers and employees would not be allowed to discriminate against LGBT employees.
ENDA has been proposed in Congress since 1994 and was introduced by House representative Barney Frank in 2007. However, while the bill has not been passed yet, it has already caused a stir among religious organizations. Some of them believe that its terms would support same-sex marriage. To know more about the ENDA, here are some things that it does and does not do:

What ENDA can do

* It can extend the coverage of anti-discrimination laws to LGBT employees.
* It would prohibit employers and supervisors to make any employment-related decisions based on an employee’s sexual orientation.
* Discriminated employees who are covered by ENDA can also file charges against the responsible parties. Protected employees can hire Los Angeles discrimination lawyers who can help them.
* However, its legal remedies are much more limited than procedures permitted by the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
* It covers the Congress and federal government, as well as state and local government employees.


What ENDA cannot/does not do

* ENDA does not cover businesses with only 15 employees or less.
* It cannot be applied to religious organizations or assemblies.
* It does not cover the uniformed members of the armed forces.
* It does not allow a non-intentional discrimination or disparate impact claim. This means that an employer is not required to justify his actions that may have affected a group of LGBT employees.
* If ENDA will be passed, it would not cover past issues and violations of its statutes.

Based on the things it can and cannot do, ENDA appears to be a good idea to protect the rights of employees who are discriminated against because of their gender identity. However, a significant number of groups have already criticized it. If you want to know more information about the ENDA, you can consult a legal expert in your location. If you live in Los Angeles, you can call a Los Angeles Labor Attorney and ask additional details about the ENDA and other anti-discrimination laws.