Reps. Raskin, Maloney Call on Department of Labor and Trump Administration to Uphold Nondiscrimination Protections for LGBTQ Workers
Statement
Today, Representatives Jamie Raskin (MD-8) and Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) and more than 80 House Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus Members urged Acting Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella to withdraw a proposed rule change to a 2014 Executive Order that protects all federal contractors from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Shortly after taking office, President Trump committed to upholding the 2014 Executive Order, and has since broken his promise to "protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community." The Department of Labor has cited vague and misleading "religious liberty" concerns as the primary reason for the rollback.
The Members wrote:
"We are disappointed that you have worked to advance this troubling rule in the early days of your tenure as Labor Secretary instead of working with Congress to articulate a clear and fair balance between religious freedom and equal rights for all in the contractor workplace. We urge the OFCCP and this Administration to immediately withdraw this proposed rule and engage in conversations with our Members about ways to ensure that the government can guarantee religious freedom and equal dignity to all American workers."
"President Trump never stops making a mockery of his 2016 campaign promise to fight for the LGBTQ community. I'm proud to join with Rep. Maloney and our fellow Equality Caucus colleagues to call out the Administration's downright cruel effort to strip away legal protections that federal contract workers have against discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity," said Rep. Jamie Raskin.
"This Administration is going out its way to try and hurt people they see as "different". Well, Congress won't stand by as the president puts millions of women, LGBTQ people, and immigrant workers who are employed by a federal contractor in harm's way. I'm proud to join with the LGBT Equality Caucus in demanding the Department of Labor stop their efforts to legalize discrimination," said Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney.
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