Tag Archives: employment

Apple Corp, Dow Chemical, and Levi Strauss Come Out In Support of The Equality Act

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Gay USA

Earlier this week we posted about Democrats Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Cory Booker of New Jersey who will be introducing legislation in Congress today to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other federal laws to protect LGBT Americans from discrimination.

The Equality Act would amend Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include employment protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. Religious beliefs, race, sex, color, and national origin are already protected classes. The bill would not change existing religious exemptions for religious corporations, schools, and associations to make hiring decisions based on religious beliefs if the employee will be performing work connected with their religious activities.

Today three of America’s largest businesses came out in support for the upcoming legislation:

STATEMENT BY APPLE – “At Apple we believe in equal treatment for everyone, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, how they worship or who they love. We fully support the expansion of legal protections as a matter of basic human dignity.”

STATEMENT BY THE DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY – “Dow applauds the introduction of the Equality Act and continues to support a comprehensive federal framework that ensures fairness and opportunity for everyone. Full inclusion of our LGBT colleagues and citizens is quite simply the right thing to do – for business and for society.”

STATEMENT BY LEVI STRAUSS & CO. – “Levi Strauss & Co. is proud to support the Equality Act. We have a long history of supporting LGBT equality, and the time has come in this country for full, federal equality for the LGBT community. Ensuring fairness in our workplaces and communities is both the right thing to do and simply good business.”

Like ENDA, (The Employment Non-Discrimination Act) the Equality Act will see little traction in either GOP-dominated chamber and is on track for passage in 6 – 10 years.

 

Jeb-thro Bush Backs LGBT Workplace & Housing Protections (But Only On A State-By-State Basis)

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End jeb

Speaking to employees at San Francisco tech startup Thumbtack,  Jeb Bush declared that workplace and housing discrimination protections for LGBT Americans should be enacted, but only on a state-by-state basis.

An employee who identified himself to Bush as being gay asked about Bush’s position on legislation to ban discrimination of LGBT Americans. “I don’t think you should be discriminated because of your sexual orientation. Period. Over and out,” he replied.

Bush continued: “The fact that there wasn’t a law doesn’t necessarily mean you would have been discriminated against.” He added that in the wake of the Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, the country must work to carefully balance the rights of those seeking to marry and the religious beliefs of those who oppose those unions.

Citing the frequently-used example by religious freedom advocates, Bush said that in the case of a florist approached by a gay couple, “you should be obligated to sell them flowers, doing otherwise would be discriminatory.” But he said that the objecting florist should not be required to participate in the wedding, a fine line that he hopes will appeal to all sides of the debate.

When the employee followed up to ask specifically whether he would support anti-discrimination laws for LGBT Americans for their housing and employment—the next target for gay rights marriage advocates—Bush said he would at the state level. “I think this should be done state-by-state, I totally agree with that,” he said.

As of this writing on 31 of the 50 states DO NOT offer LGBT protections. 

States Rights, nullification. How very confederate of him.

Lincoln weeps

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Rules That Anti-Gay Workplace Discrimination Is Barred By Existing Laws

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Equalty

In a HUGE win coming blindly from left field. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ruled that existing civil rights law bars sexual orientation-based employment discrimination.

Via Buzzfeed:

The independent commission addressed the question of whether the ban on sex discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars anti-LGB discrimination in a complaint brought by a Florida-based air traffic control specialist against Transportation Sec. Anthony Foxx.

The ruling — approved by a 3-2 vote of the five-person commission — applies to federal employees’ claims directly, but it also applies to the entire EEOC, which includes its offices across the nation that take and investigate claims of discrimination in private employment. While only the Supreme Court could issue a definitive ruling on the interpretation, EEOC decisions are given significant deference by federal courts.

Lambda Legal reacts:

“This landmark opinion from the EEOC confirms what we have long argued in our cases: discriminating against gay, lesbian and bisexual employees violates federal law. This ruling is likely to have enormous positive effects because EEOC interpretations of Title VII are highly persuasive to the courts—they tend to be predictive. Given the clarity and logic of this opinion, most courts are likely to stop simply referring to old, illogical rulings about Title VII coverage. A few may disagree, but most probably will be guided by the Commission’s straightforward approach,” said Greg Nevins, Counsel and Employment Fairness Strategist for Lambda Legal. Lambda Legal has been working for years on cases showing why Title VII, when properly understood, protects LGBT employees. This EEOC decision cites some of Lambda Legal’s recent work on this issue and it will be immensely significant in this continuing work.

While EEOC rulings are not binding in federal courts,they are persuasive. And expect this decision to end up before the Supreme Court in the future.

And so the next great LGBT battle begins.

#EqualityNow

Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook, and 100 Other Tech Companies Call For Full Federal LGBT Rights and Equality – Full List

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Tech Companies

 

Fed up with the the ongoing RFRA battles a coalition of over 100 major tech industry corporations including: Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Linkedin, Yahoo, Netflix, Intuit, Uber, Salesforce, Cisco Systems, and PayPal has issued a joint statement calling for full federal LGBT anti-discrimination protections.

Joint Statement from Tech Industry Leaders

The values of diversity, fairness and equality are central to our industry. These values fuel creativity and inspiration, and those in turn make the U.S. technology sector the most admired in the world today.

We believe it is critically important to speak out about proposed bills and existing laws that would put the rights of minorities at risk. The transparent and open economy of the future depends on it, and the values of this great nation are at stake.

Religious freedom, inclusion, and diversity can co-exist and everyone including LGBT people and people of faith should be protected under their states’ civil rights laws. No person should have to fear losing their job or be denied service or housing because of who they are or whom they love.

However, right now those values are being called into question in states across the country. In more than twenty states, legislatures are considering legislation that could empower individuals or businesses to discriminate against LGBT people by denying them service if it they felt it violated their religious beliefs.

To ensure no one faces discrimination and ensure everyone preserves their right to live out their faith, we call on all legislatures to add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes to their civil rights laws and to explicitly forbid discrimination or denial of services to anyone.

Anything less will only serve to place barriers between people, create hurdles to creativity and inclusion, and smother the kind of open and transparent society that is necessary to create the jobs of the future. Discrimination is bad for business and that’s why we’ve taken the time to join this joint statement.

Sincerely,

Marc Benioff, CEO, Salesforce
Max Levchin, CEO, Affirm
Mark Pincus, Chairman, Zynga
Jeremy Stoppelman, CEO, Yelp
Jack Dorsey, CEO, Square
Dick Costolo, CEO, Twitter
Logan Green, CEO, Lyft
Brian Chesky, CEO, Airbnb
Joe Gebbia, CPO, Airbnb
Nathan Blecharczyk, CTO, Airbnb
Ron Conway, Founder, SV Angel
John Donahoe, CEO, Ebay
Paul Graham, CoFounder, YCombinator
Rich Barton, Chairman, Zillow Group
Chad Hurley, CEO, Mixbit
Adora Cheung, CEO, Homejoy
Phil Libin, CEO, Evernote
Trevor Traina, CEO, IfOnly
Nirav Tolia, CEO, Nextdoor
Dion Lim, CEO, NextLesson
Bret Taylor, CEO, Quip
Joe Lonsdale, Managing Partner, Formation 8
Thomas Layton, Chairman, Elance-odesk
Fabio Rosati, CEO, Elance-odesk
Dave Morin, CEO, Path
Mark Goldstein, Chairman, BackOps
Kevin Rose, CEO, North Technologies
Yves Behar, CCO, Jawbone
Padmasree Warrior, CTSO, Cisco Systems
Tony Conrad, CEO, about.me
Sunil Paul, CEO, Sidecar
Michael Moritz, Chairman, Sequoia Capital
Dan Schulman, President, PayPal
Devin Wenig, President, eBay Marketplaces
Robert Hohman, CEO, Glassdoor
Laurene Powell Jobs, Founder and Chair, Emerson Collective
Mohan Warrior, CEO, Alphalight
David Spector, CEO, ThirdLove
Shervin Pishevar, CoFounder, Sherpa Ventures
David Karp, CEO, Tumblr
Reid Hoffman, Chairman, Linkedin
Kevin Ryan, Chairman, Gilt
Michael Birch, CoFounder, Bebo
Hosain Rahman, CEO, Jawbone
John Zimmer, President, Lyft
Bill Ready, CEO, Braintree
Jon Oringer, CEO, Shutterstock Images
Drew Houston, CEO, Dropbox
Bijan Sabet,  General Partner, Spark Capital
Douglas Merrill, CEO, ZestFinance
Tom Sheahan, CEO, RedOxygen
Brian Samelson, CEO, eMaint.com
Daniel Lurie, CEO, Tipping Point Community
Aaron Levie, CEO, Box
Jeff Weiner, CEO, Linkedin
Gary Moore, President & COO, Cisco
Travis Katz, CEO, Gogobot
Joe Davis, CEO, Webtrends
Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft
Brad Smith, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Microsoft
Josh Kopelman, Partner, First Round Capital
Rob Glaser, CEO, Realnetworks
Jason Goldberg, CEO, hem
Evan Reece, CEO, Liftopia
Dave Gilboa, CoFounder, Warby Parker
Neil Blumenthal, CoFounder, Warby Parker
Sean Parker, Chairman, Airtime
Reed Hastings, CEO, Netflix     
Charles Phillips, CEO, Infor
Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, CEO, Joyus.com
Michael Brown, President & CEO, Symantec
Sarah Leary, CoFounder, Nextdoor
Katie Stanton, VP, Twitter
Karen Appleton, Founder, Box.org
Brit Morin, CEO, Brit + Co
Susan Wojcicki, CEO, Youtube
Melody McCloskey, Founder, StyleSeat
Brandee Barker, Co-Founder & Partner, The Pramana Collective
Greg Tseng, CEO, if(we)
David Tisch, Chairman, Boxgroup
Kristen Koh Goldstein, CEO, BackOps
Jessica Herrin, CEO, Stella & Dot
Brian O’Kelley, CEO, AppNexus
Jeff Lawson, CEO, Twilio
Steven R. Boal, CEO, Coupons.com
Gary Shapiro, CEO, Consumer Electronics Association
Kim Jabal, CFO, Path
Ryan Holmes, CEO, Hootsuite
Alison Pincus. Co-Founder, One Kings Lane
Jeremy Liew, Managing Director, Lightspeed Venture Partners
Larry Page, President, Google
Eric Schmidt, Chairman, Google
Travis Kalanick, CEO, Uber Technologies
Brad Smith, CEO, Intuit
Mike Huang, CEO, Glow
Aileen Lee, Founder, Cowboy Ventures
Kristen Koh Goldstein, CEO, Scalus
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Facebook
Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook
Chris Nicholas, President, Asymmetrica Labs
Ken Brownfield, CTO, Asymmetrica Labs
Stacy Brown-Philpot, COO, TaskRabbit
Nick Woodman, CEO of GoPro
Tony Bates, President of GoPro
Jack Lazar, CFO of GoPro
Tracy DiNunzio, CEO, Tradesy
John Chambers, Chairman and CEO, Cisco
Lorna Borenstein, CEO, Grokker.com
Michelle Peluso, CEO, Gilt
Ben Silbermann, CEO Pinterest
Lloyd Carney, CEO, Brocade
Irakly George Arison, CEO, Shift Technologies Inc.
Evan Goldberg, CTO,  Netsuite
Zach Nelson, CEO, Netsuite
David Hassell, CEO, 15Five
Brian McAndrews, CEO, Pandora Media
Jared Fliesler, General Partner, Matrix Partners
Joshua Kushner, Founder, Thrive Capital
Marissa Mayer, CEO, Yahoo!
Bracken P. Darrell, CEO, Logitech

Mormon Church Won't Oppose Utah's Gay Conversion Therapy Torture Ban

The Mormon Church Will Back SOME LGBT Rights If Religious Folk Get Exclusions Because We Are Mean To Them

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Mormon Church Kills LGBT bill

 

Via Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate:

In at least one big and bruising culture-war battle, the Mormon church wants to call a partial truce. Convening a rare press conference on Tuesday at church headquarters in Salt Lake City, Mormon leaders pledged to support anti-discrimination laws for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people, as long the laws also protect the rights of religious groups. In exchange, the Mormon church wants gay rights advocates — and the government — to back off. “When religious people are publicly intimidated, retaliated against, forced from employment or made to suffer personal loss because they have raised their voice in the public square, donated to a cause or participated in an election, our democracy is the loser,” said Elder Dallin Oaks, a member of the church’s Quorum of Twelve Apostles. “Such tactics are every bit as wrong as denying access to employment, housing or public services because of race or gender.”

Let me be fucking crystal clear here. The Mor(m)on Church is in no position to negotiate, let alone to negotiate from any position of strength.

After spending MILLIONS of dollars to fight LGBT rights. After ruining countless lives by sending gay and lesbian Mormons to “re-education camps”, using shock therapy, and in some cases even lobatomizing gay men. They have the nerve to try to strike a deal now that their “righteous” facade is crumbling and people are truly seeing how hateful and evil they are by saying: We still want to oppress you, but we’ll try to be nicer about it and give you some limited recognition as human beings.

If you ever needed the definition of a “STRAWMAN” this unadulterated  BULLSHIT from the LDS church is it.

Openly gay Utah State  Sen. and founder of Equality Utah,  Jim Dabakis who sent out a statement saying:

“I am proud that the LDS Church has seen fit to lead the way in non-discrimination. As a religious institution, Mormons have had a long history of being the victims of discrimination and persecution. They understand more than most the value and strength of creating a civil society that judges people by the content of their character and their ability to do a job. Since serving as a Senator, and as the only LGBT member of the Utah legislature, I can say one of the joys of the job has been to meet and enjoy the company of LDS officials. I know that together, we can build a community that strongly protects religious organizations constitutional liberties and, in addition, creates a civil, respectful, nurturing culture where differences are honored and everyone feels welcome. Now, lets roll up our sleeves, get to work and pass a statewide Non-Discrimination Bill.”

Just goes to show you that even gay democrats can be disgusting self-loathing quislings too.

 

FRC’s Tony Per-KKK-ins Plays The Race Card Over Canned Anti-Gay Atlanta Fire Chief. Yes I Said The “Race Card”.

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Tony Perkins FRC KKK

 

Next up we have the ever hating KKK connected Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council that has the NERVE to play the race card of all people.

“Atlanta’s Kelvin Cochran knows all about fire — but being fired? That’s a whole new experience — one Cochran hopes other Christians never face. The long-time member of the city’s Fire Rescue Department was forced out of the squad in a shocking display of anti-religious prejudice after a distinguished career that [sic] an appointment by the Obama administration as the U.S. Fire Administrator. Unfortunately for Cochran, Mayor Kasim Reed seems intent on making an example of the African-American, who self-published a book — with the permission of the mayor’s office — on biblical morality. After chatting with a handful of Christian co-workers, Kelvin offered them copies of Who Told You That You Were Naked? which includes a chapter on human sexuality that’s consistent with the Bible’s teaching on the subject. Despite the fact that Cochran had his superiors’ approval, and despite the fact that he only gave the book to friends, he was suspended late last year — until yesterday, when the Mayor fired him. Obviously, it’s one thing to use your platform to intimidate subordinates, but the idea that you should have to surrender your First Amendment rights merely for being a public servant is outrageous. What’s to prevent the government from going after another employer or contractor?”

Now ain’t that some shit.  KKK Grand Wizard David Duke’s friend and partner in crime  Tony Perkins playing the race card!

Anyway, what Perkins and Brown aren’t talking about is that the Mayor Reed’s office denies having been notified about the book.  And that Cochran “forced his own firing” by going on a speaking tour of churches during his suspension where he declared (to great applause, no doubt) that he would continue to proselytize at the workplace upon his return.

And by the way,  Perkins should learn to use Google  Search Images.  The Mayor Kasim Reed that “seems intent on making an example of the African-American.” is “African American” himself.

What a maroooon. 

 

 

Sen. Jeff Merkley To Introduce Sweeping Federal LGBT Rights Bill That Has No Chance In Hell of Passing

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Merkley and HRC

 

Justin Snow over at MetroWeekly reports that Sen. Jeff Merkley has formally announced that he will  introduce a comprehensive LGBT civil rights bill in the next Congress.

Merkley said that while the Senate’s passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in November of last year by a 64-32 vote after the bill failed by one vote in 1996 was a “tremendous victory,” if discrimination is wrong in employment, it also must be wrong in areas such as housing, public accommodations and financial transactions.

“Such an act would be a major advance for opportunity and equality for the LGBT community and would be a major stride toward a more just society,” said Merkley, who has been the lead sponsor of ENDA in the Senate since assuming that role from Sen. Ted Kennedy in 2009.

Merkly who previously supported and introduced the last version of  ENDA as written with the gaping religious exemption states that he will introduce an omnibus bill in the next Congress with comprehensive LGBT nondiscrimination protections.  Also that the religious exemption in the expected omnibus bill should track identically to federal nondiscrimination provisions in the 1964 Civil Rights Act addressing race. “Obviously there’s going to be an intense conversation between stakeholders and we hope to bring in a bipartisan coalition,” Merkley said. But narrowing the religious exemption could prove detrimental to Republican support.

NOTE:  The “religious exemption” in Title VII of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act grants churches, synagogues, and mosques, as well as some religiously affiliated organizations an exemption from the law’s prohibition on religious hiring discrimination–meaning they can prefer members of their own faith in hiring. The purpose of this exemption is to permit a religious organization to require those who carry out its work to share its faith (and it has subsequently been interpreted to apply even when an employee’s work is not itself religious). But, it is not a blank check for these organizations to discriminate for any reason. It does not, for example, permit discrimination on the basis of race or sex.   AND WE SHOULD SETTLE FOR NOTHING LESS.

Meanwhile Human Rights Campaign  President Chad Griffin said securing comprehensive LGBT federal protections could take decades.  Which is especially true now after the past 20 years of HRC’s total mishandeling of ENDA and the current GOP controlled House and Senate.

“I have great faith in those on Capitol Hill in the House and the Senate, Democrats and Republicans, who have led on ENDA who will lead us on how we get there,” Griffin said. “This is going to take a long time and this is going to be perhaps the biggest battle we’ve ever had when it comes to federal legislation.”

It’s amazing what Democrats can do when they are not in power.

Well now the HRC has another “moneybeg” for the next two decades that they can constantly fuck-up to stay in business and try to justify their bloated salaries.

 

 

 

Republicans Refuse To Give Up, Attempt Last Ditch Effort To Stall Executive Order On LGBT Federal Contractors

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GOP SCUM

 

Now that the Department of Labor has issued its final rule on the implementation of President Obama’s executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT employees. House Republicans seeing a chance to screw with not only Obama but also the gays are now trying to stall the order’s enactment.

Via Buzzfeed:

House Education and Workforce Committee Chair John Kline, a Republican from Minnesota, and Rep. Tim Walberg, the Republican chair of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, made the request for a 60-day public comment period for the rule in a letter to the head of the office responsible for enforcing it. “[W]e understand the public was not afforded an opportunity to submit comments as provided under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA),” Kline and Walberg wrote to Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Director Patricia Shiu. “Public comment is essential to all rulemakings.” After laying out their argument, they write, “We therefore urge OFCCP to withdraw its final regulation submitted to [Office of Management and Budget] … so the process for implementing [Obama’s executive order] can be done with the transparency and public participation typically afforded under the APA.” They ask for a response from Shiu “no later than December 17, 2014.”

This is a preview of what the next 2 years will be like. Add the Senate to the House.

There is something seriously mentally wrong with Republican politicians.  And worse the people who voted them into office

 

ExxonMobil Announces That It Will Comply With LGBT Employment Executive Order

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Finally

ExxonMobil, the world’s largest energy corporation, that holds millions of dollars in federal contracts and whose board and shareholders who know how to buy oil stocks more than anyone else has year after year voted against granting LGBT workplace protections to it workers, has announced that it will comply with the executive order signed by President Obama on Monday.

Via the Associated Press:

Exxon, which according to government records won more than $480 million in federal contracts in 2013 and more than $8 billion since 2006, has long resisted pressure from civil rights groups and shareholders to enumerate such protections in its formal policy. The world’s biggest oil and gas company by market value will continue to “abide by the law,” spokesman Alan Jeffers said Tuesday. He wouldn’t say if that meant changing the language in the company’s formal equal employment opportunity policy, but stressed that Exxon prohibits “discrimination on any basis.” n May, Exxon shareholders voted down a proposal for the 15th consecutive year to add such language to its equal employment opportunity statement, maintaining that the business standards stated on a company web site ensure protections without having to specifically name them.

One of America’s most odious corporations, dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

LOVING IT!

Can’t wait for Tony PerKKKins’ and Bryan Fischer’s head to explode and announce the subsequent boycott of Exxon Mobil.

AFA Hate Group Starts Letter Writing Campaign To Obama: Your LGBT EO Has Stopped Us From Being Religious Bigots!

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Evil Prayers

 

The American Family Association: 

Defying the Constitution, which gives only Congress the authority to make laws, President Obama decreed that anyone who does business with the federal government must adopt written policies that specifically mandate special protections for “sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.” Obama’s love affair with homosexuality will impact some 24,000 companies with 28 million workers, or one-fifth of the U.S. workforce. More alarming, his order discriminates against Christians.

In most cases, the government uses private and locally-owned civilian businesses to provide services. Examples include construction companies (carpenters, plumbers, electricians, etc.), health care professions, retail vendors (Walmart, Menard’s, restaurant chains), hotels and airlines. Without an exemption, Obama is ordering Christians to embrace sin and forfeit their faith convictions if they want to have the same business opportunities as non-Christian businesses. Obama has overstepped his authority and treats Christians as second-class citizens.

This is the email that the AFA is urging its followers to send:

I am deeply concerned by your executive order this week giving minorities the same rights and privileges that Christians have enjoyed for half a century, based solely on who they have steamy, wildly inventive, and deeply satisfying sex with. I believe all minorities should be treated as non-white, non-Christians were treated during the Middle Ages, but you have given preferential treatment to a fabulous lifestyle and not our chosen philosophy. More concerning is your decision to ignore the numerous pleas from KKK-affiliated hate groups to include exemptions for those who hold deep religious prejudices. In essence, you are discriminating against bigots and placing them at a great disadvantage when bidding to do business with the federal government. I am sending a copy of this message to my members of Congress, urging them to overturn your executive order by whatever means necessary, including fasting and holding their breath, to rein in your totally legal order and insure that Christians are free to practice their faith while pushing lesser Americans to the side.

By the way the AFA action alert does invite one to “edit or add your own text”  Lets go do some creative writing gurls!