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Zack Ford: Obama Administration Announces Executive Order Protecting LGBT Employees Of Federal Contractors
The White House announced Monday that President Obama will issue an executive order requiring that all companies who contract with the federal government must not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The order, expected to be finalized in the coming weeks, is an extension of orders previously issued by past presidents — most recently Johnson — similarly banning employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin among all contractors and subcontractors who do over $10,000 in business with the government in any one year. The protections will reach over one million LGBT workers across the country, making it the single largest expansion of LGBT workplace protections in our country’s history. There continue to be 29 states that offer no employment protections on the basis of sexual orientation and 32 with no protections based on gender identity, but many LGBT workers in those states will now have workplace protections for the first time ever. As many as 43 percent of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people and 90 percent of transgender people have experienced some form of harassment or discrimination in the workplace.
The single largest expansion of LGBT workplace protections in our country’s history thkpr.gs/1vtxvJH http://t.co/wPwizWCDxQ
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CAP Action (@CAPAction) June 16, 2025One of the largest companies that could be impacted by the executive order is Exxon Mobil, which last month voted down LGBT employment protections for the 17th time. The company claims to have a “zero tolerance” policy on the books for mistreatment, but that does not have the same legal force or consistency as the protections shareholders have voted down each year. As many as 9 out of 10 voters believe federal law already protects LGBT workers from discrimination. Though this isn’t true, many of the country’s biggest companies do already have corporate policies prohibiting such discrimination. Businesses of all sizes have found that nondiscrimination protections are good for their bottom line, improving the recruitment, retention, and productivity of talented employees and appealing to a wider customer base. A new Human Rights Campaign poll finds that 63 percent of voters support federal LGBT employment protections.
More here
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Share the news: President Obama will prohibit federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
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The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 16, 2025Executive action to ban fed contractors from discriminating against #LGBT workers is good for America & for business #WorkplaceEquality
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Valerie Jarrett (@vj44) June 16, 2025****
#FairnessMeans more than 1 million LGBT workers protected from discrimination. thkpr.gs/1vtxvJH http://t.co/wsDDyqCgiC
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CAP Action (@CAPAction) June 16, 2025Huge news: Obama admin to issue executive order banning #LGBT employment discrimination. thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2014/06/1… (via @TPEquality)
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Jacob Combs (@jacobdcombs) June 16, 2025****
LGBT community asked Obama for a lot of stuff. By the end of today, they’ve gotten most of it. buzzfeed.com/chrisgeidner/w…
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E McMorris-Santoro (@EvanMcSan) June 16, 2025Nice bit of Monday news: "President Obama to sign executive order on LGBT nondiscrimination" politico.com/story/2014/06/… via @POLITICO
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Jared Solomon (@jaredssolomon) June 16, 2025****
BREAKING:@WhiteHouse plans to extend #LGBT workplace protections to millions. Say thnx w/@HRC hrc.org/ThankObama http://t.co/YdfwlEUXv5
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HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) June 16, 2025Federal Contractor Executive Order would protect more than 20 percent of the American workforce-28 million workers. hrc.org/thankobama
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HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) June 16, 2025****
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