In an election-year nod to his liberal base, President Obama will sign an executive order Monday prohibiting discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees working for federal contractors and the federal government.
White House officials said Friday that Mr. Obama plans to amend existing executive orders barring discrimination against workers to include protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The president ordered his staff to begin drafting the order several weeks ago.
But the order won’t repeal President George W. Bush’s amendment allowing religious-affiliated federal contractors to discriminate on the basis of religion, senior administration officials said.
Legislation to bar discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has stalled in Congress this year. LGBT activists hailed the White House announcement.
Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said the move “will soon lead us to a day where all LGBT employees are protected from rank discrimination on the job.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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