Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 21:49:43 GMT
Subject: NEW BILL WOULD PROTECT TRANSFOLK ON THE JOB
From: riki@nyc.pipeline.com (Riki Anne Wilchins)


NEW JOB DISCRIMINATION BILL  
WOULD PROTECT TRANSFOLK  
=========================== 
  
	[Washington, D.C. -- August 7,  
1996]  On July 11, 1996, House  
representative Brian P. Bilbray (R-CA)  
introduced a new a job discrimination  
bill that would protect transgendered  
persons.   
 
       The Workplace Fairness Act (H.R.  
3784) bypasses the usual "laundry list"  
of protected classes: race, religion,  
sex, etc.  Instead, it simply states  
that people would be protected from  
workplace discrimination for *any*  
reason not affecting job performance.   
The bill is co-sponsored by outed gay  
Reps. Gunderson and Kolbe among others,  
and is considered by some to be  
groundbreaking in its simplicity. 
  
 
The Devil in the Details  
-------------------------  
 
	One problem with the bill is that  
it still would let employers fire an  
employee for not getting along with  
coworkers.  It's often the *coworkers*  
who can't getting along, not the  
transgendered worker.  This problem  
could be fixed, but plenty of opposition  
to the bill is expected anyway -- both  
from employers trying to protect their  
right to hire and fire who they want, as  
well as from activist groups favoring  
the unequivocal "laundry list" approach. 
 
 
Express Your Support 
-------------------- 
 
	Said Dana Priesing, GenderPAC's  
Congressional Advocacy Coordinator: "The  
Workplace Fairness Act is an important  
first step towards outlawing *all*  
discrimination if a person is a  
competent and effective employee, and  
it's the first bill we've seen which  
covers transpeople and genderqueers.   
Let your Congressional representative  
know you *support* the Workplace  
Fairness Act.  Call 202-225-3121 and ask  
to speak to the representative for your  
district." 
[END] 
 
--  InYourFace: a GenderPAC news service  --