Employment Non-Discrimination Act

In 1964, Congress passed Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.  This federal law protects workers discriminated against based on sex, nationality, race, and more. It was based on the principle that workers should be judged solely on their merits.  The 1964 Act did not include protections for workers discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.  Gender identity describes individuals whose gender does not conform to the biological sex he or she was assigned at birth. Some people use the term transgender instead of the term gender identity.

For over 30 years, the LGBT community has been working to expand this law. In 1994, an employment non-discrimination act (ENDA) was introduced that would expand this law to include protections for those discriminated against due to their sexual orientation.  It was defeated in the U.S. Senate by only one vote.  It has never been acted upon in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

A version of ENDA was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this year.  The version as introduced included protections for workers discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.  In the last several weeks, however, the gender identity provisions were removed from the bill.  Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin is hoping to offer an amendment to the bill when it goes to the floor of the House of Representatives that would put gender identity protections back in the bill.  Fair Wisconsin supports the Baldwin amendment and supports an ENDA that includes transgender protections and sexual orientation protections.  Contact our office for more information about how you can help.  For more information, see the National Center for Transgender Equality.

Click here to read Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin's statement on ENDA. 

Click here to take action.

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