S. HRG. 111–1134 EMPLOYMENT NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT: ENSURING OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL AMERICANS HEARING OF THE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON EXAMINING S. 1584, TO PROHIBIT EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GENDER IDENTITY NOVEMBER 5, 2009 Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 75–804 PDF WASHINGTON : 2012 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS TOM HARKIN, Iowa, Chairman CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee PATTY MURRAY, Washington RICHARD BURR, North Carolina JACK REED, Rhode Island JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia BERNARD SANDERS (I), Vermont JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona SHERROD BROWN, Ohio ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska KAY R. HAGAN, North Carolina TOM COBURN, M.D., Oklahoma JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon PAT ROBERTS, Kansas AL FRANKEN, Minnesota MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado J. MICHAEL MEYERS, Staff Director and Chief Counsel FRANK MACCHIAROLA, Republican Staff Director and Chief Counsel (II) CONTENTS STATEMENTS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009 Page Harkin, Hon. Tom, Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, opening statement ............................................................................... 1 Merkley, Hon. Jeff, a U.S. Senator from the State of Oregon ............................. 3 Franken, Hon. Al, a U.S. Senator from the State of Minnesota .......................... 4 Perez, Thomas E., Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC ............................................................ 5 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 8 Casey, Hon. Robert P., Jr., a U.S. Senator from the State of Pennsylvania ...... 12 Bennet, Hon. Michael F., a U.S. Senator from the State of Colorado ................. 16 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 18 Norton, Helen, Associate Professor of Law, University of Colorado School of Law, Boulder, CO ............................................................................................. 19 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 21 Madigan, Hon. Lisa, Attorney General, State of Illinois, Chicago, IL ................ 25 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 27 Nguyen, Virginia, Diversity and Inclusion Team Member, Nike, Inc., Bea- verton, OR ............................................................................................................. 33 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 34 Carney, Michael P., Police Officer, City of Springfield Police Department, Springfield, MA .................................................................................................... 36 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 38 Parshall, Craig L., Senior Vice President and General Counsel, National Religious Broadcasters Association, Manassas, VA .......................................... 40 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 42 Olson, Camille A., Partner, Seyfarth Shaw, LLP, Chicago, IL ............................ 47 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 50 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL Statements, articles, publications, letters, etc.: Letter from the General Conference, Seventh Day Adventist Church ........ 64 Senator Dodd .................................................................................................... 76 Senator Brown .................................................................................................. 76 Senator Sanders ............................................................................................... 77 Statements of Support ..................................................................................... 78 Letter from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) ................... 103 Letters of Support ............................................................................................. 117 Letter of Opposition .......................................................................................... 219 Response to questions of Senator Enzi by: Thomas E. Perez ........................................................................................ 221 Helen Norton ............................................................................................. 223 (III) EMPLOYMENT NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT: ENSURING OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL AMERICANS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:03 a.m., in Room SD–430, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Tom Harkin, chair- man of the committee, presiding. Present: Senators Harkin, Casey, Merkley, Franken, and Bennet. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HARKIN The CHAIRMAN. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will please come to order. I welcome everyone here today. Our committee will hear testi- mony on an important piece of civil rights legislation, the Employ- ment Nondiscrimination Act, also known as ENDA, and this is the first hearing we’ve had on this since 2002. The issue here could not be more simple. We’re talking about a fundamental American value: equal treatment for all, a principle that citizens who work hard and pay their taxes and contribute to their communities deserve fair treatment and should not be dis- criminated against. Over the last 45 years, we’ve seen great strides toward elimi- nating discrimination in the workplace. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, sex, national origin, and religion. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act in 1967 prohibited discrimination on the basis of age. One that I’m even more familiar with, the Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990 prohibited discrimination on the basis of disability. So, it’s time, I believe, at long last for us to prohibit discrimina- tion on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, as well. Such discrimination is wrong and shouldn’t be tolerated in our soci- ety. The former chair of this committee, Senator Kennedy, worked his entire career to ensure opportunity for all Americans. He first in- troduced this legislation in 1994. So, today, by taking up this im- portant bill, we’ll continue Senator Kennedy’s work, and we con- tinue the proud commitment of this committee to uphold fair treat- ment for working Americans. I’m proud that one of our newest members, Senator Merkley, led the effort in his own State of Oregon for full equality for all Ameri- (1) 2 cans, and has established himself as a champion on these issues al- ready here in the Senate. I thank him for his leadership. I look for- ward to working with him closely as this important legislation moves through Congress. Full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Ameri- cans is a vital issue, but it’s by no means a new one. As we’ll hear today, our States have already led the way toward ensuring full equality for our fellow Americans. Currently, the District of Colum- bia and 12 States—including Iowa, I am proud to say—have en- acted statutes that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Another nine States bar job dis- crimination on the basis of sexual orientation alone. These States have found that full equality for all their citizens is not only the right thing to do, but it’s beneficial to us all. Likewise, leading companies across the country have found that equality in the workplace is not only the right thing to do, but makes good business sense. Eighty-seven percent of Fortune 500 companies have sexual orientation nondiscrimination policies and 41 percent have gender identity nondiscrimination policies. So, I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today about the positive experiences that businesses have had. While these States and businesses provide important protections and should be commended, the harsh reality is that employers in most States in this country can still fire, refuse to hire, or other- wise discriminate against individuals because of their sexual ori- entation or gender identity; and, shockingly, they can do so within the law. As we’ll hear today, too many hardworking Americans are being judged not by their talent and ability and qualifications, but by their sexual orientation or gender identity. Unfortunately, we can cite example after example of bigotry and blatant job discrimi- nation. Moreover, it’s not just private employers that have been guilty of discrimination; unfortunately, State governments have also en- gaged in