President to Sign Executive Order Banning LGBT Discrimination for Federal Contractor Employees

The White House on Monday announced that President Obama will soon issue an Executive Order (E.O.) banning certain federal contractors from discriminating against their employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The E.O. is a means of enacting – if only for federal contractors – a scaled-down version of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA), which has stalled in Congress. ENDA would make it unlawful for most private employers to refuse to hire or discriminate against individuals on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. In November 2013, the Senate passed ENDA with an amendment related to the bill’s exemption for religious entities. The House has not taken up ENDA, nor is it expected to this year.