releases: http://franken.senate.gov/?p=news&id=2600
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| http://franken.senate.gov/?p=news&id=2600 | Sen. Franken's Floor Statement on the Employee Non-Discrimination Act | 2013-11-07 | 2013 | 2013-11 | Democrat | House | MN | Al Franken | F000457 | franken.senate.gov | legacy | STATEMENT ON THE EMPLOYEE NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT SENATOR AL FRANKEN (as prepared for delivery) M. President, I rise today in strong support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. In many towns and cities across our country, it's still perfectly legal to fire someone because they're gay. You can be a hard worker, show up on time, and get exemplary performance reviews, but if your boss discovers that you're gay or transgender, he can fire you just for being who you are or for whom you love, and there's nothing you can do about it. That is a terrible injustice for Americans who happen to be LGBT. It violates the principle that we are all equal under the law. We all deserve the chance to work hard and prove ourselves, regardless of our race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age - or sexual orientation or gender identity. Many Americans don't even realize that it remains legal to discriminate against LGBT Americans in the workplace. In one recent poll, eight in ten Americans believe that it is already illegal under federal law to fire or refuse to hire someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Doesn't that tell you something about how obviously right passing ENDA is? The debate that we are having in the Senate today is about whether we should ensure that LGBT Americans don't suffer discrimination in the workplace. I have long been a supporter of ENDA, and enacting it into law is something we should have done a long time ago. In fact, 17 years ago it came within one vote of passing in the Senate. Making ENDA law will be the next significant step in the fight for equality for LGBT Americans. After decades of struggle, we have achieved a number of huge victories in rapid succession - ending Don't Ask Don't Tell; overturning the federal ban on same-sex marriage recognition; the achievement of marriage equality in more and more states, including my home state of Minnesota. While we are debating ENDA in the Senate today, equality in the workplace is in fact something we achieved in Minnesota over two decades ago. In 1993, the Minnesota State Legislature amended our state's Human Rights Act to protect Minnesota's workers from discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. At the time, only a few states prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation, and Minnesota was the first state to include protections for transgender workers. We have had this law in place for over twenty years in Minnesota, and what has been the effect? For LGBT Minnesotans, it has meant that they don't have to live in fear of being fired, or discriminated against in hiring, just because of who they are or whom they love. That is a big deal. But if you're not an LGBT Minnesotan, very little has changed. Some people, including the House Speaker Boehner, are opposing ENDA because, they claim, it will cause frivolous lawsuits and be bad for business. The Minnesota experience shows that those fears are unfounded. There has not been a flood of lawsuits, because the rights of LGBT Minnesotans are widely respected. And with 19 Fortune 500 companies, Minnesota has become an ever better place to work and do business. Minnesota is basically the same as it was before this law was passed, except that it is better because LGBT Minnesotans are free from discrimination at work. Let me just give you one example. Last year, a vice president from General Mills, the Minnesota-based company that is one of the world's largest food companies and which currently employs 35,000 people and makes Cheerios, spoke at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing about General Mills' support for making sure that the same legal protections people have in Minnesota are extended to workers across America. The General Mills vice president spoke about how the company's policy of inclusion has contributed to its innovation and growth. He said, quote, "Employees who are members of the GLBT community are incredible contributors to our enterprise. Absent their unique perspectives, talents, and gifts, we would be less competitive and successful. Simply said, talent matters. Now more than ever, American business needs to leverage the ingenuity of all sectors for our nation. Discriminatory barriers to top talent just don't make business sense." Unquote. And there are many large employers headquartered in Minnesota- Target, Supervalu, U.S. Bancorp, Xcel Energy, Medtronic, 3M, Cargill, Best Buy and many many others - who have put in place company-wide policies against discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. Minnesota's small businesses have also reported on the positive effects of Minnesota's human rights law. For instance, Nancy Lyons is the owner of a small, 70-person Minneapolis business that develops software. Nancy says that the protections and peace of mind that her employees get from not living in fear positively impacts every aspect of their lives, from their productivity at work to their family lives. It is long past time that LGBT employees around the country be guaranteed the same rights that they have had in Minnesota for twenty years. In Minnesota, our law has given LGBT Minnesotans peace of mind and freedom from discrimination at work and improved the overall climate in our state for those individuals, for families, and for businesses. I look forward to the Senate passing this bill, and I hope that the House will take it up and pass it as well. Thank you. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |