A bi-partisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation which would make employment discrimination against lesbians and gay men illegal. Senator Jim Jeffords (R-VT), the bill’s chief Republican sponsor in the Senate, has yet to schedule a date for considering the bill in the Labor Committee, which he chairs. The House did not take up the legislation last year, and there are no assurances that it will take up the bill this year. Senator Max Cleland (D-GA), however, who replaced Sam Nunn, said he would vote for the legislation. Nunn voted against the measure in 1996 when it failed in the Senate by only one vote. The bill’s sponsors have also modified it in order to reflect some concerns from last year’s opponents. This bill will not allow the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to collect information on employees’ sexual orientation. It also will not allow the government to require quotas for hiring lesbians and gay men. The bill also specifically excludes religious organizations.
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