New Salt Lake City Ordinances Prohibit Housing and Employment Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation
Yesterday the Salt Lake City Council unanimously passed ordinances prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Click here to download a copy of the City Council's Staff Report on the ordinances, along with full text of the new laws. Highlights of the employment discrimination ordinance include:
- Forbids employment discrimination based on a person's sexual orientation or gender identity in Salt Lake City.
- "Sexual orientation" is defined as "a person’s actual or perceived
orientation as heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual." - "Gender identity" is defined as "a person’s actual or perceived gender identity, appearance, mannerisms, or other characteristics of an individual with or without regard to the person’s sex at birth."
- "Sexual orientation" is defined as "a person’s actual or perceived
- Creates a complaint and investigation process. The complaint could be resolved through mediation or a fine of up to $1,000.
- Does not create a "private right of action" to sue over alleged discrimination.
- Exempts religious organizations, the State of Utah, and businesses with fewer than 15 employees.
- "Does not create any special rights or privileges," because "every person has a sexual orientation and a gender identity."
- Requires annual reports by the city's Human Rights Commission on the effectiveness of the ordinances.
- Takes effect on April 2, 2010.
In case you were wondering, the ordinances passed with the full support of the LDS Church. "The church supports these ordinances," LDS spokesman Michael Otterson told the City Council, "because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage." For more coverage of the SLC ordinances, read this article from the Salt Lake Tribune, or this article from the Deseret News.
SLC employers should review the new laws and review existing policies and procedures to ensure compliance. Many states, counties and cities across the country have adopted similar ordinances. To check the state of the law in your location, check out this handy list of state and local sexual orientation and gender identity laws from the Human Rights Campaign.
Extension of Federal Benefits to Same-Sex Partners Falls Short of Goals
The memorandum issued by President Obama yesterday extends some benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees, including access to a government insurance program that pays for long-term conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, and to sick leave to care for a sick same-sex partner or a non-biological child. However, the extension did not provide eligibility for health care to same-sex partners, drawing protest from gay activists.
Why did President Obama stop short? The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the 1996 federal law that, among other things, defines marriage as a legal union exclusively between one man and one woman. According to President Obama's press statement, the White House determined that DOMA prevented an extension of all benefits to same-sex partners, including health care. In the statement, President Obama called on Congress to repeal DOMA and signaled an intend to extend all benefits to same-sex partners if and when that happens.
President Obama's actions will clearly impact Federal agencies and their employees, but what effect does it have on private employers? For now, none - the memorandum only applies to the federal government. However, it does signal a growing trend in mandating the extension of employee benefits to same-sex partners. States that recognize same-sex marriage generally require private employers to extend benefits to same-sex spouses; other states that do not recognize same-sex marriages but do recognize same-sex partnerships (such as Oregon, Washington and California) may require private employers to extend benefits to same-sex partners under certain circumstances. Private employers should consult legal counsel about their possible obligation to provide such benefits.
Number of Companies with Top Rating for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Workers Jumps by One-Third
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation yesterday released its seventh annual Corporate Equality Index ("CEI"), which rates 583 large businesses on a scale from 0 to 100 percent on their treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. This year 259 businesses--employing more than 9 million full-time employees--achieved a perfect score, a one-third increase over last year. These companies protect their employees from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression through policies on diversity & inclusion, training, health care, and domestic partnership benefits.
One notable trend is that of the 583 business rated in the CEI, 99 percent have policies prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, a 13 percent increase over last year. 92 percent of rated employers provided health insurance coverage to employees' same-sex domestic partners.
According to Marvin Odum, president of Shell Oil, “A 100-percent rating helps us to better attract, recruit and retain diverse talent to contribute to our overall business success.” But having anti-discrimination policies is frequently more than good business--it is also the law. Many states, including California, Oregon, Minnesota and Washington, have state laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity, and more states are considering adopting such laws. If you don't already have an anti-discrimination policy that prohibits such discrimination, now might be a good time to adopt one.
