Tag Archives: employment

INDIANA: Kokomo Passes LGBT Rights Bill [VIDEO]

From Indiana’s NBC affiliate: Kokomo has become the latest Indiana community to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Council members voted 5 to 4 in favor of an ordinance protecting members of the LGBT community after what has been a contentious debate. The crowd maxxed capacity of Kokomo’s council chambers. By fire code, only 157 could fit …

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HRC: 60 Major Corporations Endorse Equality Act

The Human Rights Campaign today announced that 60 major corporations have jointly endorsed the Equality Act. Companies on the list include Amazon, Apple, Google, Twitter, IBM, Facebook, Hilton, Hyatt, MasterCard, General Mills, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo. See the full list below. Via press release: Since HRC joined with lawmakers and advocates last July to introduce the Equality Act in Congress, HRC …

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EEOC Files Lawsuits Seeking To Define Sexual Orientation Discrimination As Sex Discrimination

Via press release: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that it has filed its first two sex discrimination cases based on sexual orientation. The federal agency’s Philadelphia District Office filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against Scott Medical Health Center, and, in a separate suit, in U.S. District Court for the …

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SURVEY: Majority Of Public Backs Equality Act

A survey conducted by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute reveals that a majority of Americans in every state supports the Equality Act, which would ban anti-LGBT discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations. From the Human Rights Campaign: Currently, 33 states lack clear, fully inclusive LGBT non-discrimination protections, leaving people at risk for being fired, denied a job or …

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CALIFORNIA: OSHA Nixes Mandatory Condoms In Porn

Mandatory condom use by porn performers is already the law in Los Angeles County and the issue will be put to voters statewide in November thanks to a ballot initiative sponsored by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. However yesterday state OSHA officials declined to beat voters to the punch. From the Los Angeles Times: The state Division of Occupational Safety and …

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Panasonic Announces Global LGBT Protections Including Marriage Recognition For Its 250,000 Employees

This is major, especially for a Japanese corporation. Rocket News 24 reports: Panasonic, the Japanese electronics producer and one of the Olympic Games’ biggest sponsors, announces sweeping policy changes. LGBT rights in Japan have been in the headlines quite a bit the last few years, but today it looks like the LGBT community can count another win: Osaka-based Panasonic has …

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YES OR NO: Indiana Gov. Mike Pence Continues To Dodge Simple Basic Question On LGBT Rights [VIDEO]

Watch Pence squirm. Freedom Indiana: “Governor Mike Pence has never been able to answer the question of whether he believes LGBT Hoosiers should be fired for who they are. Time after time, he has dodged the question of why he does not support comprehensive non-discrimination protections for LGBT people. Take action here.”

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INDIANA: Senate Advances Heavily-Amended “LGBT Rights” Bill That Will Only Make Things Worse

After hours of testimony from local and national hate groups as well as sobbing out-of-state martyred anti-LGBT business owners, the Indiana Senate Rules and Legislative Procedures committee tonight advanced a heavily-amended “LGBT rights” bill that actually worsens the already poor civil rights status of LGBT Hoosiers. Activist groups below are calling for “all hands on deck” to stop the bill. Freedom …

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LIVE VIDEO: Florida Senate Committee Begins Hearing On Comprehensive LGBT Anti-Discrimination Bill

The Florida Senate Judiciary Committee is just beginning its hearing on a comprehensive LGBT anti-discrimination bill. The chamber appears to be packed with supporters and our enemies. Watch at this link. Equality Florida has the details: The committee will hear The Florida Competitive Workforce Act (SB 120) which would prohibit discrimination against LGBT people in employment, housing and public accommodations. …

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Bernie Sanders Comforts Weeping Woman After Her Story About Living On Minimum Wage [VIDEO]

The Sun-Times reports: A crowd at a Bernie Sanders’ event in Iowa Monday witnessed a woman break down in tears as she described what life is like living on just $12,000 a year, prompting the senator to try to console the emotional woman. At the event in Iowa Falls, the Vermont senator asked the crowd if anyone knew what it …

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MONTANA: Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock Signs Order Protecting LGBT State Employees From Discrimination

Via press release: In a press conference earlier today Governor Bullock celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. day by noting that it is time to “recommit to King’s values of compassion and equity” by expanding protections for LGBT people in Montana. He also spoke to Montana’s private business owners, stating “while an executive order applies to state government only I encourage …

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US Economy Added 2.65 Million Jobs In 2015

#ThanksObama! The Washington Post reports: The U.S. economy finished the year with a red-hot hiring spree, adding 292,000 new jobs as the unemployment rate held steady at 5 percent, according to new government data released Friday morning. The latest jobs report exceeded the expectations of economists and investors and provided a reassuring note about the resiliency of the labor market, …

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ATLANTA: Court Allows “Religious Discrimination” Lawsuit Brought By Anti-Gay Former Fire Chief

Reuters reports: A federal judge will hear a high-profile discrimination lawsuit brought by a former Atlanta fire chief who claims he was fired for his religious beliefs after publishing a book critical of homosexuality. City officials had sought the dismissal of the lawsuit, filed by Kelvin Cochran in a case that has been closely followed by conservative groups advocating religious …

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MASSACHUSETTS: Court Rules That Catholic Prep School Broke Law In Gay-Hiring Retraction

ABC News reports: An all-girls Catholic prep school in Massachusetts violated state anti-discrimination law by rescinding a job offer to a man in a same-sex marriage, a judge ruled. Matthew Barrett was offered a job as Fontbonne Academy’s food services director in 2013, but the offer was withdrawn days later after he listed his husband as his emergency contact. Barrett …

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Marco Rubio Pledges To Reverse Obama’s “Sinful” Executive Order On LGBT Employment Protections

Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio has pledged to reverse President Obama’s executive order barring anti-LGBT workplace discrimination among federal contractors, saying faith-based businesses are “being compelled to sin by government in their business conduct.” Rubio made the remarks during Thanksgiving week in the same interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network in which he …

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IRELAND: Approved Bill Protects LGBT Teachers

Big news for LGBT teachers in Ireland, where the Catholic Church runs most public schools. From the Irish Journal: The Dail has passed a Bill that will make it illegal for religious-run schools to discriminate against LGBT teachers over their sexuality. The Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013 amends the provisions of Section 37(1) of the Employment Equality Act. It has …

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LOUISIANA: Governor-Elect John Bel Edwards To Protect LGBT State Employees From Discrimination

Well, this is a welcome surprise coming from someone who campaigned on opposing same-sex marriage. NOLA.com reports: Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards plans to issue an executive order to protect the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community from firing, discrimination and harassment as state employees and government contractors. Edwards’ directive would cover state workers and government contractors in agencies and departments …

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UKRAINE: Parliament Temporarily Approves Gay Employment Protections To Win Visa-Free EU Travel

After rejecting the bill on last week’s first reading, today Ukraine’s Parliament approved gay employment protections in order to qualify for visa-free travel within most EU nations. But according to a local gay journalist, the protections are set to expire soon, making the bill a mere end-run around the EU’s requirements. In addition, the bill only passed after MPs were …

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UKRAINE: Parliament Blocks Open Travel To EU Nations Over Gay Employment Protections

Yesterday Ukraine’s Parliament voted down gay employment protections, which are a requirement for visa-free travel among the EU nations that belong to the Schengen zone. Agence France-Presse reports: President Petro Poroshenko said in a nationally televised address late Wednesday that his crisis-torn nation — it’s economy battered and the pro-Russian separatist east out of Kiev’s control — faced “an extremely …

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MISSOURI: State Court Rules That Calling Employee “Cocksucker” Doesn’t Violate Human Rights Law

A Missouri state appeals court has ruled that called a gay employee “cocksucker” and asking if he has AIDS does not violate the law because Missouri has no employment protections for LGBT citizens. Courthouse News Service reports: A divided three-judge panel ruled Tuesday that James Pittman cannot hold his former employer, Cook Paper Recycling Corp., liable because state law does …

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