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Employment Law
November 8, 2013

Senate Passes Employment Non-Discrimination Act

​By former Associate Jack Blum

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) passed the Senate by a vote of 64-32 on November 7, 2013. The vote marked the first time that the measure prohibiting employment discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation or gender identity has ever passed either congressional chamber.

ENDA faces an uphill battle in the House of Representatives, where the Washington Post reported that “[t]op GOP leaders consider the measure written so broadly as to invite a fresh wave of litigation against employers and unnecessary because of existing federal, state and private workplace protections.” As we recently blogged, Maryland and the District of Columbia are two of the jurisdictions that offer such similar workplace protections under state and local law. Regardless of ENDA’s fate in Congress, local employers should be aware of the additional requirements they face under state and in some cases county law.