From: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 05 Jul 94 11:44:27 -0400 Eastern

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TALKING POINTS           TALKING POINTS          TALKING POINTS  
 
               THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN FUND                    
 
The Nation's Largest Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Political Group   
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          EMPLOYMENT NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT OF 1994 
          HR4636 & S2238             TALKING POINTS
 
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 1994 (ENDA) extends
federal employment discrimination protections currently provided
based on race, religion, gender, national origin, age and
disability to sexual orientation.  Thus, END Act extends fair
employment practices -- not special rights -- to lesbians, gay
men, bisexuals and heterosexuals.
 
ENDA prohibits employers, employment agencies, and labor unions
from using an individuals sexual orientation as the basis for
employment decisions, such as hiring, firing, promotion, or
compensation.
 
Under ENDA, covered entities cannot subject an individual to
different standards of treatment based on that individuals sexual
orientation (real or perceived) or discriminate against an
individual based on the sexual orientation of those with whom the
individual associates.
 
The "disparate impact" claim available under Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) is not available under ENDA.
 
Therefore, an employer is not required to justify a neutral
practice that may have a statistically disparate impact based on
sexual orientation.
 
ENDA exempts small businesses, as do existing civil rights
statutes, and does not apply to employers with fewer that fifteen
employees.
 
ENDA exempts religious organizations including educational
institutions substantially controlled or supported by religious
organizations.
 
ENDA prohibits preferential treatment, including quotas, based on
sexual orientation.
 
ENDA does not require an employer to provide benefits for the
same-sex partner of an employee.
 
ENDA does not apply to the uniformed members of the armed forces
and thus does not affect current law on lesbians and gay men in
the military.
 
ENDA provides for the same remedies (injunctive relief and
damages) as are permitted under Title VII and the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA).
 
ENDA applies to Congress, with the same remedies as provided by
the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the ADA.
 
ENDA is not retroactive.
 
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