The Employment Nondiscrimination Act ENDA

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The Employment Nondiscrimination Act(ENDA)

• Advancing Equality and
• Ending Discrimination
• in the Workplace

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Workplace Equality

• Equality in the workplace means equal access to
  opportunities for all employees, respecting all
  employees for their individual contributions, and
  accepting them for their differences.
• Most employers dont discriminate based on sexual
  orientation. However, discrimination does still
  occur from time to time.
• There is a new Colorado law to protect lesbian,
  gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals in the
  workplace.

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Employment Nondiscrimination Act

• When On May 25, 2007, Governor Bill Ritter
  signed Senate Bill 07-025, or the Employment
  Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA).
• What ENDA expands Colorados employment
  nondiscrimination protections to include sexual
  orientation. The new law
• Defines sexual orientation as a persons
  orientation toward heterosexuality,
  homosexuality, bisexuality, or transgender
  status. 
• Makes it unlawful to consider sexual orientation,
  gender identity, or expression when making
  employment-related decisions.
• Makes it unlawful to make any inquiry about an
  applicants sexual orientation or gender
  expression. 
• Who In Colorado, the law is applicable to
  employers, employment agencies, labor
  organizations, on-the-job training, and
  vocational training programs and schools.
• What Employers Must Do Add the term sexual
  orientation into their nondiscrimination
  policies so that all employees are aware of the
  organizations compliance with the law.

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Why Is This Important?

• Because equal and fair treatment is
• Simply the right and respectful thing to do.
• An important player in an organizations ability
  to attract and retain key employees.
• The law in Colorado.

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The Cost of Losing Employees

• The cost of losing and replacing professionals
  and managers who leave their employers due to
  unfairness in the workplace is approximately 64
  billion a year.
• (Level Playing Field Institute, 2007)

Protect the talents that make up your workforce
by embracing and protecting the diversity of
your employees.
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Survey The Role an Unfair Environment Plays

• Among gay and lesbian professionals who left
  their jobs
• Nearly 32 percent would have been more likely to
  stay in a positive work environment
• 25 percent would have been more likely to stay in
  a respectful work environment
• 32 percent would have likely stayed if their
  managers better recognized and rewarded their
  abilities and
• nearly 45 percent would have likely stayed if
  their employer had offered more or better
  benefits.
• (DiversityIncs Top 50 Companies for Diversity,
  2007)

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What YOU Can Do

• Ensure your nondiscrimination policies include
  the terms sexual orientation and gender
  expression.
• Spread the word about ENDA to other organizations
  with whom you do business. (Ask us for our Did
  You Know overview to share.)
• Go the extra distance by
• Extending equality policies to all of the
  individuals with whom you do business
  contractors, vendors, clients, volunteers, etc.
• Consider offering domestic partnership benefits
  to LGBT employees.

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What Else Can You Do to Advance Equality?

• Have active programs to recruit LGBT employees.
• Have LGBT employee resource groups.
• Have adoption assistance for LGBT employees.
• Have corporate web sites addressing the LGBT
  community.
• Include gay/lesbian businesses in your
  supplier-diversity tracking.

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More Information

• www.gayandlesbianfund.org/enda
• www.colorado.gov
• www.aclu.org/enda/