Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Discrimination in the Workplace A Practical Guide Chapter 19: The Employment Non-Discrimination Act: Its Scope, History, and Prospects Suzanne B. Goldberg, Esq., Terra Hittson, Class of 2014 & Kevin Hu, Class of 2014 Editor-in-Chief Christine MiChelle Duffy, esq. Pro Bono Partnership Parsippany, New Jersey State Laws Executive Editor Denise M. VisConti, esq. Littler Mendelson, P.C. San Diego, California With the assistance of The National LGBT Bar Association and its Executive Director D’Arcy Kemnitz, Esq. AArlington, VA Copyright © 2014 The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. Reprinted by permission Nothing contained herein is to be considered the rendering of legal advice for specific cases, and readers are responsible for obtaining such advice from their own legal counsel. These materials and any forms or agreements herein are intended for educational and informational purposes only. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace : a practical guide / Editor-in-Chief Christine Michelle Duffy, Esq., Pro Bono Partnership, Parsippany, New Jersey ; State Laws Executive Editor Denise M. Visconti, Esq., Littler Mendelson, P.C., San Diego, California ; with the assistance of The National LGBT Bar Association and its Executive Director D’Arcy Kemnitz, Esq. pages cm Includes index. ISBN 978-1-61746-300-6 1. Transgender people--Employment--Law and legislation--United States. 2. Gays--Employment--Law and legislation--United States. 3. Gender identity-- Law and legislation--United States. 4. Transphobia--Law and legislation--United States. 5. Homophobia--Law and legislation--United States. I. Duffy, Christine Michelle, editor. II. Visconti, Denise M., editor. III. Kemnitz, D’Arcy. IV. National LGBT Bar Association KF3467.5.G46 2014 344.7301'56--dc23 2014027148 All rights reserved. Photocopying any portion of this publication is strictly prohibited unless express written authorization is first obtained from BNA Books, 1801 S. Bell St., Arlington, VA 22202, bna.com/bnabooks. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by BNA Books for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) Transactional Reporting Service, provided that $1.00 per page is paid directly to CCC, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923, copyright.com, Telephone: 978-750-8400, Fax: 978-746-8600. Published by Bloomberg BNA 1801 S. Bell Street, Arlington, VA 22202 bna.com/bnabooks ISBN 978-1-61746-300-6 Printed in the United States of America Chapter 19 THE EMPLOYMENT NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT: ITS SCOPE, HISTORY, AND PROSPECTS Suzanne B. Goldberg, Esq. Herbert and Doris Wechsler Clinical Professor of Law, Director, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, Columbia Law School, New York, New York Terra Hittson, Class of 2014 Columbia Law School, New York, New York Kevin Hu, Class of 2014 Columbia Law School, New York, New York Contributor Christine Michelle Duffy, Esq. Pro Bono Partnership, Parsippany, New Jersey I. Introduction ......................................................................... 19-2 II. What Does the Employment Non-Discrimination Act Say? .............................................................................. 19-4 A. To Whom Does the Employment Non-Discrimination Act Apply? ...................................................................... 19-5 B. What Is Prohibited? ........................................................ 19-8 C. What Is Not Prohibited? ................................................. 19-9 D. How Would the Employment Non-Discrimination Act Be Enforced? ............................................................ 19-10 E. Why Is the Employment Non-Discrimination Act Necessary? ...................................................................... 19-11 F. Is the Employment Non-Discrimination Act Constitutional? ................................................................ 19-12 1. The Commerce Clause ............................................. 19-13 2. The Fourteenth Amendment .................................... 19-14 III. History ................................................................................. 19-16 A. 1974–1992 ....................................................................... 19-17 1. Overview .................................................................. 19-17 2. House Hearings in 1980 and 1982 ........................... 19-19 a. 1980 Hearing ...................................................... 19-19 19-1 19-2 Gender IdentIty & Sexual OrIentation discrImInation Ch. 19. b. 1982 Hearing ...................................................... 19-20 B. 1993–2006 ...................................................................... 19-22 1. Overview .................................................................. 19-22 2. Hearings in 1994, 1996, 1997, and 2002; Senate Vote in 1996; and Senate Report in 2002 .... 19-23 a. 1994 Senate Hearing .......................................... 19-23 b. 1996 House Hearing ........................................... 19-24 c. 1996 Senate Vote ................................................ 19-25 d. 1997 Senate Hearing .......................................... 19-26 e. 2002 Senate Hearing .......................................... 19-27 f. 2002 Senate Report ............................................ 19-28 C. 2007–2012 ....................................................................... 19-29 1. Overview .................................................................. 19-29 2. 2007–2008 Gender Identity Debate: House Hearings, Report, and Vote ...................................... 19-30 a. 2007 House Hearing .......................................... 19-31 b. 2007 House Report ............................................ 19-34 c. 2007 House Vote ................................................ 19-34 d. 2008 House Hearing .......................................... 19-35 3. 2009 House and Senate Hearings ............................ 19-35 a. 2009 House Hearing .......................................... 19-36 b. 2009 Senate Hearing .......................................... 19-36 4. 2012 Senate Hearing ................................................. 19-38 D. 2013 ................................................................................. 19-39 1. Differences Between the 2011 and 2013 Bills ......... 19-39 2. July 2013 Amendments and Senate Committee Vote ........................................................................... 19-41 3. September 2013 Senate Report ................................ 19-43 4. Renewed Debate Over the Employment Non-Discrimination Act’s Religious Exemption ...... 19-44 5. November 2013 Senate Vote .................................... 19-45 6. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act’s Status as of April 2014 ............................................. 19-47 IV. Conclusion ........................................................................... 19-48 I. IntrOduCtion The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is a proposed fed- eral bill that would prohibit discrimination in hiring and employment based on an individual’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity by civilian, nonreligious employers who employ at least 15 employees.1 1 See generally Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2013, H.R. 1755, 113th Cong. (2013), available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d113:hr1755:; Employment Non- Discrimination Act of 2013, S. 815, 113th Cong. (2013), available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi- bin/bdquery/z?d113:s815:. Inasmuch as H.R. 1755 and S. 815 appear to be identical, except as Ch. 19.I. the emplOyment nOn-discrImInation aCt 19-3 Advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and their congressional allies have fought for the passage of some form of ENDA for more than four decades, including the 113th Congress, which commenced in January 2013. In June 2012, attorney and transgender rights advocate Kylar Broadus testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (Senate HELP Committee). He described how his gender affirmation elicited open abuse from his coworkers and contributed to his eventual termination: After I announced my gender transition, it only took six months before I was “constructively discharged” from my employer. While my supervisors could tolerate a somewhat masculine-appearing black woman, they were not prepared to deal with my transition to being a black man. With growing despair, I watched my professional connections, support and goodwill evapo- rate, along with my prospects of remaining employed. I was harassed until I was forced to leave. I received harassing telephone calls hourly from my supervisor some days. I received assignments after hours that were due by 9 a.m. the next morning. The stress was overwhelming. I ended up taking a stress leave for several weeks. I thought upon my return perhaps things would settle down. I was back less than a week from stress leave and knew that it wasn’t going to settle down. I was forbidden from talking to certain people and my activities were heavily monitored. I was forced out and unemployed for about a year before finally obtaining full-time employment.2 Broadus warned that his experience was not unique: “It’s devastating, it’s demoralizing and dehumanizing to be put in that position. I sit here as otherwise noted in the discussion in this chapter, citations