ENDA is

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 3017), introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), would prohibit employment discrimination, preferential treatment, and retaliation on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity by employers with 15 or more employees. Currently, it is legal to discriminate in the workplace based on sexual orientation in 29 states and in 38 states based on gender identity.

And the place to start for me is with the testimony of William Eskridge, John A. Garver Professor of Jurisprudence at Yale Law School, it's short but very pointed.



And next up, another personal story, this one from Vandy Beth Glenn, where she was fired from her Georgia state legislative job



Normally, when I write these posts, I have loads to say, but I honestly couldn't add analysis or even a thought when presented with the testimony of Vandy Beth Glenn and William Eskridge. Nothing I've experienced comes close to being fired from a job that you love and are good at because your boss has an issue with how your co-workers might feel. Feel? Seriously? WTF?

I think we as a society have a long way to go on the issue of equality. From women's pay, to Don't Ask Don't Tell, we have long walk ahead of us. Legislation like ENDA is a major step down that long road, and no one says it better than the men and women most affected by ENDA, like Helen C. Walther:

By Helen C. Walther on September 22, 2009 12:59 PM
As a transsexual woman I can directly attest to the need of this legislation. I can directly relate to the fear of losing a job, or not even having a chance for one, because of my gender identity as well as the limiting nature of this fear on my current job search (I’ve been unemployed for 9 months).

ENDA needs to come to the floor and every member of Congress needs to vote for it.

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My mom’s a waitress, and I put myself through college waiting tables. I mostly did the graveyard shift and that mostly meant, drunks. Everyone finishing up their parting came into the family restaurant I worked at and ate until they were sober enough again to drive.

When I waited tables, my skirt was often flipped up by customers, in fact it happened so much that I began wearing men’s swim trunks in the worst possible colors underneath the polyester smock I had to wear. They were the right length for the skirt and stayed close to my legs so as not to ride up during the shift.

It was nothing for cooks or security guards to try and rub my shoulders or try to side swipe me through the pantry door so they could grab the side of a breast. It was the late 80’s and filing a law suit for this behavior was unthinkable. In fact, think Anita Hill when you think about the 80’s and filing a law suit. I’d have marked myself, and I certainly wouldn’t have helped anyone I worked with.

So, today, when I say that the Tavern On The Green settled their lawsuit for not only sexual harassment but also :

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said pervasive harassment of employees had occurred at the restaurant, including epithets aimed at blacks, the ridiculing of Hispanic accents and groping women's breasts and buttocks.
The harassment was perpetrated by staff at all levels including top management and line workers, the EEOC said

The $2.2 million in the settlement will go into a fund for the workers named in the suit (according to the article).

It’s just nice to see that the Tavern On The Green is doing the right thing now. Of course, not hiring the worthless pieces of shit that harassed their co-workers probably would have been a better idea. Interesting enough, they did mention that as well in their statement:

The restaurant said in a statement it was pleased the case was "amicably settled" and that "the management staff whose alleged actions were cited in the filing have not been associated with the restaurant for years."

I guess I have some small hopes that those managers were fired once the owners knew about the harassment, but I have to admit, I wonder at what point those mangers left. It really just has me wondering if they left of their own accord or were removed. I’m guessing I’ll just have to keep wondering.

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