Roll Call - The House Must Act to End Employment Discrimination

Op-Ed

By Reps. Jared Polis, Mark Pocan and Mark Takano

If ENDA were voted on today, it would undoubtedly become law. The only thing standing in the way of these basic workplace protections is Boehner's refusal to allow the bill to be debated and receive a vote on the House floor. Since Boehner has steadfastly resisted calls from Americans from across the country and from both political parties to allow a vote on ENDA, it is time for us to act without him.

Our discharge petition also calls for an amendment clarifying that, where religious freedom and freedom from discrimination appear to collide, ENDA will hold employers to precisely the same standard to which they are held with regard to discrimination based on race, gender, and national origin. In the post Hobby Lobby era, Americans want to make sure that courts don't make their private matters a corporate matter. The standard set forth in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 balances religious freedom with the rights of the individual better than the amended language of the Senate bill.

In a nation that was founded on principles of individual freedom, it is unfathomable that we would allow employers to fire and harass workers on the basis sexual orientation and gender identity that are irrelevant to job performance. If you believe, as we do, that employees should be evaluated based on merit, then we hope you will call on your representatives to sign this discharge petition and allow these commonsense workplace protections to receive a long overdue vote on the House floor.

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