Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) refers to proposed federal legislation in the United States that would prohibit discrimination based upon sexual orientation and gender identity/expression by employers with at least 15 employees. Proponents of ENDA recognize that LGBTQ people have been historically marginalized in the workplace, and passage of ENDA would prohibit employers from firing, denying job opportunities to, or otherwise discriminating against LGBTQ workers. ENDA becoming law in the United States would mean that LGBTQ workers would become a protected group alongside other protected categories, such as race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and age.

[Page 364]ENDA is modeled after other important civil rights legislation of the past century. For example, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination at work ...