Background Information on ENDA

In the United States, the Constitution and federal statutes bar arbitrary discrimination in fundamental areas of life such as employment, housing and public accommodations. Discrimination based on race, religion, gender, ethnicity, age or national origin is prohibited in these areas. However, discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is not banned. Employment discrimination against LGBT people is a widespread problem in the US (as in much of the rest of the world) and those who experience this type of discrimination have no recourse under current federal law or Constitutional interpretation.

In addition to federal protection, each state in the US also has human rights/civil rights laws that provide protection against discrimination – yet out of 50 states in the US, only 17 states (California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin) and the District of Columbia have passed laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Only eight states (California, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Washington) and the District of Columbia prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. The inclusion of the term "gender identity" insures that these non-discrimination protections are extended to transgender people in addition to lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. Many cities and counties have also extended basic anti-discrimination protections to LGBT persons but these laws only apply within their jurisdictions. In effect, without federal protection, it is still legal to fire someone based on a person's sexual orientation in 33 states, and the same is true in 42 states based on gender identity.

Amnesty International has called on governments throughout the world to secure greater legal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity by adopting constitutional and other legal provisions.

The United States has fallen behind other countries in promoting, protecting and fulfilling LGBT human rights, including ensuring protection for LGBT people from discrimination in basic areas of life, such as employment. In its 2006 review of U.S. compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the UN Human Rights Committee "note[d] with concern the failure to outlaw employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in many states" and recommended a more comprehensive federal legislative protection.

The U.S. government has an obligation under international human rights law to protect basic human rights for all its citizens, including LGBT people. ENDA bars discrimination in employment that is clearly in violation of existing international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.

Amnesty International USA is working with the ENDA Coalition, a broad-based alliance of civil rights, labor, religious and LGBT organizations, to obtain bipartisan support for this important bill. Recently, some House leaders decided to try to pass an ENDA bill that cuts out protections for transgender people. Make your call today.Call your Representative now at (202) 224-3121 to put "gender identity" back into ENDA, and support a fully inclusive bill.

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