More than 175 members of Congress are
calling on President Barack Obama to sign an executive order banning
federal contractors from employment discrimination based on sexual
orientation and gender identity.
The lawmakers signed on to a letter
sent Tuesday by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat.
“All Americans deserve fairness in
the workplace,” Merkley said in an emailed statement. “There is
no reason to wait any longer to extend non-discrimination policies to
federal contractors and protect millions of Americans from being
fired for who they are or who they love.”
Obama has previously called on Congress
to approve the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would
protect LGBT workers, arguing that an executive order is not as
durable as a law.
The full text of Merkley's letter
follows.
“We are writing to urge you to
fulfill the promise in your State of the Union address to make this a
'year of action' and build upon the momentum of 2013 by signing an
executive order banning federal contractors from engaging in
employment discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) Americans. As you have said before, 'now is the
time to end this kind of discrimination, not enable it.'”
“As we continue to work towards final
passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) with strong
bipartisan support, we urge you to take action now to protection
millions of workers across the country from the threat of
discrimination simply because of who they are or who they love. We
are committed to doing all that we can in Congress to get ENDA to
your desk this year; however, there is no reason you cannot
immediately act by taking this important step. This executive order
would provide LGBT people with another avenue in the federal
government they could turn to if they were the victim of employment
discrimination by a federal contractor. When combined with ENDA,
these non-discrimination protections would parallel those that have
been in place for decades on the basis of race, sex and religion.”
“An executive order covering LGBT
employees would be in line with a bipartisan, decades-long commitment
to eradicating taxpayer-funded discrimination in the workplace. In
1941, President Roosevelt prohibited discrimination in defense
contracts on the bases of race, creed, color, or national origin. In
subsequent executive orders, Presidents Roosevelt, Truman,
Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson expanded these protections to ensure
that taxpayer dollars are not used to discriminate.”
“In addition, most of the largest
government contractors – companies like Boeing, Raytheon, and
Lockheed Martin – have LGBT non-discrimination policies in place.
They adopted them because business leaders recognize that
discrimination is bad for the bottom line.”
“Finally, time is of the essence.
Even with an executive order in place, full implementation of these
protections will require regulations to be developed and finalized, a
process that will take many months, if not longer, to fully put in
place.”
“Issuing an executive order
prohibiting discrimination against LGBT workers in federal contracts
would build on the significant progress for LGBT rights made during
your time as President and would further your legacy as a champion
for LGBT equality. We urge you to act now to prevent irrational,
taxpayer-funded workplace discrimination against LGBT Americans.”