Legislation
introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday
by a bipartisan group of lawmakers seeks to shore up
long-standing federal workplace protections for gay
federal employees. The measure comes in response to a
Bush appointee who has stubbornly refused to enforce
those protections, activists and lawmakers say, first put in
place by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978.
"Federal
workers should not be fired, disciplined, or faced with
retaliation on the basis of their sexual
orientation," said Tammy Baldwin, Democratic
representative from Wisconsin, who cosponsored the
legislation, introduced by California Democrat Henry Waxman
and Connecticut Republican Chris Shays; the bill
is also cosponsored by Maryland Democrat Steny
Hoyer, Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank, Florida
Republican Mark Foley, New York Democrat Eliot Engel,
Illinois Democrat Danny Davis, and Arizona Republican
Jim Kolbe. "Despite long-standing federal
policy that protects gay and lesbian federal workers,
which has been reaffirmed by President Bush, [Office of
Special Counsel] director Scott Bloch has refused to
follow that directive. This legislation makes it
crystal clear that federal workers are protected."
Bloch, head of
the federal agency responsible for investigating and
settling claims of workplace discrimination, ordered the
removal of any references to sexual orientation
discrimination from the agency's Web site and
printed materials last year. In response the White
House released the following statement: "Long-standing
federal policy prohibits discrimination against
federal employees based on sexual orientation....
President Bush expects federal agencies to enforce this
policy and to ensure that all federal employees are
protected from unfair discrimination at work."
But Bloch
recently indicated at a Senate hearing that he has no
intention of investigating or acting on certain claims
of sexual orientation discrimination from federal
employees. The new legislation would clarify the
protections for gay and lesbian employees by explicitly
making discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation a prohibited personnel practice under the
Civil Service Reform Act.
"This
legislation sends a clear message: Federal employees
shouldn't be discriminated against because of their
sexual orientation," said Patrick Guerriero,
president of the gay political group Log Cabin Republicans.
"It shouldn't take congressional action for Scott
Bloch to actually do his job. He should be ashamed of
himself."