On Thursday, November 8, The New York Times reported that the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Employment Nondiscrimination Act. The Act grants gays and lesbians protections from discrimination in the workplace. The New York Times also reported that Senator Edward Kennedy would introduce similar legislation in the Senate, and that Senator Susan Collins said that she would be a lead co-sponsor.
Although there is no federal legislation protecting gay and lesbian employees, 19 states, Washington, D.C., and several cities have laws extending such protections. Also, in Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Servs. Inc., 523 U.S. 75 (1998), the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a cause of action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for “same sex” sexual harassment. For the complete story from the New York Times, see: