Boehner says ENDA could hurt small businesses
Ding, dong, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) could be dead. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has come out against it, the Huffington Post reports.
The speaker’s ominous words are conveniently timed. An ENDA vote is slated to take place in the Senate today. There’s hope Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., can avoid any filibuster drama.
U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., pledged to support the bill. Heller becomes the Senate’s 60th member to support ENDA. Even so, the bill is still required to pass the House.
Boehner is using the tried-and-true Republican schtick that it would hurt small businesses as justification. He left it to spokesman Michael Steel to deliver this message:
The Speaker believes this legislation will increase frivolous litigation and cost American jobs, especially small business jobs.
Whether small businesses are actually affected depends on one’s definition of small business. The U.S. Small Business Administration allows ?small? manufacturing to have a maximum of 500 to 1,500 employees, while ?small? wholesaling concerns are allowed a maximum of between 100 to 500 employees.
With that said, the Human Rights Campaign succinctly noted what ENDA won’t do. For example, it doesn’t cover small businesses with less than 15 employees. To some conservatives’ delight, the legislation doesn’t apply to religious organizations. And, ENDA won’t apply retroactively.
ENDA won’t create ?affirmative action? for gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender workers. It also doesn’t permit the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to require employers to keep statistics on sexual orientation or gender identity.
An updated 2009 U.S. Government Accountability Office report, released in July, provided solid proof that non-discrimination laws worked in the 18 states, which ban employment discrimination based on gender identity. They include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
That report also highlighted the more than 20 states, which have explicit statutory provisions, regarding sexual orientation. They include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. From the report:
Data showed that there were relatively few employment discrimination complaints based on sexual orientation and gender identity filed in these states during this time period.
Edited/Published by: SB
