When Obama ended DADT in the military, it set off a flood of changes
in the
de jure and
de facto discriminations against sexual orientation.
But such discrimination in jobs continues to be legal in small and large US companies.
The time has come to legally prohibit job discrimination based on sexual orientation.
NY Times
JAMES B. STEWART
5/25/13
Exxon Defies Calls to Add Gays to Anti-Bias Policy
Quote:
For millions of gay and lesbian employees, much has changed since 1999,
when no states recognized gay marriage, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” effectively barred people
who were openly gay from serving in the military, Matthew Shepard’s murderer was convicted
— and Exxon Mobil shareholders were first asked to protect gay and lesbian employees from discrimination.
One thing hasn’t: Exxon Mobil’s implacable opposition to adding sexual orientation
to its official equal employment opportunity statement.
The proposal, backed this year, as it has been since 2010, by New York State Comptroller
Thomas P. DiNapoli on behalf of the New York State Employees Retirement System,
has never gained majority support.
That’s not unusual for so-called social, political and environmental shareholder initiatives,
since most institutional money managers usually decline as a matter of policy
to vote against management recommendations on such issues.
Still, the measure has gained as much as 38 percent of the vote,
considered resounding support by the feeble standards of shareholder democracy.
<snip>
Twenty-one states, the District of Columbia and more than 160 cities and counties
have laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation.
But Exxon Mobil maintains it isn’t bound by these because of the federal Defense of Marriage Act,
which pre-empts state law.
A constitutional challenge to DOMA is awaiting a decision by the Supreme Court,
and two federal appeals courts have ruled DOMA unconstitutional.
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