US: Barack Obama to sign new executive order to outlaw anti-trans discrimination
Barack Obama has announced he will sign a new executive order outlawing anti-trans discrimination people among federal contractors.
The US President said earlier this week: “The majority of Fortune 500 companies already have non-discrimination policies to protect their employees because it’s the right thing to do and because many say it helps to retain and attract the best talent, and I agree. So if Congress won’t act, I will.
“We’ve got a lot to be proud of, but obviously we can’t grow complacent… we’ve got to defend the progress that we’ve made.”
Obama announced last month that he would sign an executive order banning homophobic workplace discrimination among, due to the stalling of the broader Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
However, anti-trans discrimination – which was covered by ENDA – was seemingly not addressed by the first executive order, leading to today’s announcement.
Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said: “Each and every American worker should be judged based on the work they do, and never because of a fundamental aspect of who they are — like their gender identity.”
Speaker John Boehner announced last week that he plans to file a lawsuit against the President for ‘abusing his authority’ by passing executive orders and circumventing Congress.
Obama refused to relent, saying: “I’m not going to apologize for trying to do something while they’re doing nothing. The suit is a stunt.
“What I’ve told Speaker Boehner directly is, ‘If you’re really concerned about me taking too many executive actions, why don’t you try getting something done through Congress?
“You’re going to squawk if I try to fix some parts of it administratively that are within my authority while you’re not doing anything?”
