ENDA, still in House Rules Committee, Expected to Go to Full House

A revised version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is still pending in the House Rules Committee, but may go to the full House later this week.  Gender-identity protection has been removed, but an amendment re-inserting the protection is anticipated.  This has put many ENDA proponents in an uncomfortable position.  Some are afraid the inclusion of gender-identity protection will make ENDA un-passable.  Some staunch supporters of gender-identity protection have advocated voting against ENDA if gender-identity protection is omitted.  The debate is similar to the debate that surrounded the inclusion of sex into Title VII 44 years ago.  Though the inclusion was fiercely debated at the time, it's an obvious no-brainer now.  I suspect that a few years down the road, we'll be saying the same about gender-identity protection.

For a complete discussion of ENDA's status, with current and proposed amendments, see the discussion over at Workplace Horizons.  For some background reading on gender-identity protection, see Transgender Employment Discrimination.

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