The Senate has passed legislation that would improve workplace conditions for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees today. However, it still has to pass the House of Representatives, where it is less likely to pass.
The vote was 64-32, with all Democrats voting in favor. Ten Republicans joined them to pass it. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) follows in the footsteps of a 1996 attempt, which failed by one vote, notes NBC News.
If it does become law, the ENDA would ban government agencies, labor unions and employers with over 15 employees from using sexual preference and gender identity as a determining factor for hiring, promoting and other decisions, according to The Wall Street Journal. There are already 22 states that ban workplace decisions based on sexual orientation and 18 have laws on the books banning decisions based on gender identity.
“Let the bells of freedom ring. The Senate has clearly spoken, to end discrimination in the workplace,” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D., Ore.) said. “Now I hope the message will carry to the House.”
Unfortunately, the House isn’t likely to take up the issue any time soon. “The bill is currently not scheduled in the House,” spokesman Rory Cooper told NBC News. “I hope [Senate] Majority Leader [Harry] Reid soon addresses the dozens of House-passed bills that have been ignored in the Senate that create jobs, improve education and create opportunity while Americans struggle to find a good-paying job.”
House Speaker John Boehner said through his spokesman that he doesn’t support ENDA and said it would “increase frivolous litigation and cost American jobs.”
President Barack Obama praised the Senate for passing it and criticized the House for not taking the issue. “One party in one house of Congress should not stand in the way of millions of Americans who want to go to work each day and simply be judged by the job they do,” Obama stated. “Now is the time to end this kind of discrimination in the workplace, not enable it.”