Workplace

AUSTIN, Texas -- A Texas state Senate panel on Wednesday began formal consideration of a bill that would ban discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation of gender identity, but the committee chair said the measure does not have the votes to pass. [ Read more → ]

ROYAL OAK, Mich. -- - A Royal Oak, Mich., resident says he's submitted petitions to force a referendum on a new gay rights ordinance in the Detroit suburb. [ Read more → ]

Nebraska lawmakers listened to four hours of testimony on measures that would call for protection against discrimination of gay employees and gay couples looking to adopt children or become foster parents. [ Read more → ]

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska lawmakers plan to bring gay rights issues back into the forefront with three proposals seeking to extend rights to employees and families. [ Read more → ]

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. -- A New Jersey woman has filed a lawsuit against candy maker M&M-Mars, alleging she was fired because she is lesbian. [ Read more → ]

WASHINGTON -- A group 37 U.S. Senators, led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), on Thursday called on President Barack Obama to issue an executive order barring federal contractors from discriminating in hiring on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. [ Read more → ]

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix city council is expected to vote this month on whether to expand the city's anti-discrimination ordinance to prohibit discrimination against its LGBT residents. [ Read more → ]

RICHMOND, Va. – A measure to protect Virginia’s LGBT state employees from workplace discrimination, was killed by a state House subcommittee on Tuesday. [ Read more → ]

RICHMOND, Va. – A measure to protect Virginia’s LGBT state employees from workplace discrimination, passed in the state Senate on Friday, and now moves forward to the House of Delegates. [ Read more → ]

Gay rights advocates are renewing their push for President Barack Obama to sign an executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against gay employees. The drive comes as Obama included an unexpected declaration of support for gay rights in his inaugural address on Monday. [ Read more → ]

A Colorado congressman who’s set to become the most senior openly gay member of the U.S. House is pledging to take the lead on perhaps the most high-profile piece of pro-LGBT legislation: the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. [ Read more → ]

Mary Kay Henry is a labor union organizer and the first female president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). [ Read more → ]

A new report by the Center for American Progress outlines how government data plays a critical role in the country’s policy making process, but that the lack of reliable data about the gay and transgender population increases the likelihood that stereotypes and myths will shape policies that impact the LGBT community. [ Read more → ]

TUCSON, Ariz. -- A Tucson businessman was fired from his job on Thursday after posting a video online of himself in a Chick-fil-A drive-thru the day prior, in which he voiced his opposition to the company's CEO and the chain's financial support of anti-gay organizations. [ Read more → ]

DALLAS, TX -– ExxonMobil shareholders on Wednesday voted against a resolution that would have prohibited workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. [ Read more → ]

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Opponents of a new city ordinance that would prohibit prohibit discrimination against LGBT people in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations, said Tuesday they had collected enough signatures of registered voters to force the city council to either repeal the measure or place it on the November ballot for a city-wide referendum. [ Read more → ]

DALLAS — The Dallas Morning News on Thursday weighed in on ExxonMobil’s 13-year refusal to add workplace protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. [ Read more → ]

LINCOLN, Neb. -- The Lincoln, Neb., City Council on Monday evening approved expanding the city’s civil rights protections to include its LGBT citizens. The partisan vote was approved by the five Democrats on the council; the two Republicans abstained, saying they had a conflict of interest. [ Read more → ]

WASHINGTON -- A Senate committee has agreed to hold a hearing on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act following calls from advocates and senators for lawmakers to hear testimony on LGBT workplace discrimination. [ Read more → ]

MERCED, Calif -- Ricardo Olguin is suing the Merced, Calif., County Sheriff’s Department for sexual harassment, claiming he was fired in 2011 because he is gay. [ Read more → ]