Senator vows to push for LGBT protection law

Undaunted by opposition in the House of Delegates, Sen. Donald McEachin, D-Richmond, says he will be back next year with another bill to prevent discrimination in the government workplace based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

March 10, 2015; 6:00 AM • by Capital News Service

By Meghan Gaffney

McEachin has introduced such legislation every year to the General Assembly since 2010. This year was the fourth time the House has killed his attempts to pass a law protecting public employees and government job applicants who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender from discrimination.

“I will continue to fight until all Virginians have equal opportunity, justice and fairness,” McEachin said.

His bill, SB 785, passed the Senate on February 3rd. (The vote was 19-19, with Democrats supporting the bill and most Republicans opposing it. But Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam cast the tie-breaking yes vote.)

The bill was assigned to the House General Laws Committee. On February 12th, a subcommittee of that panel recommended that the measure be “passed by indefinitely” for the 2015 session; it did not come up again for consideration. In 2013, the subcommittee did the same thing to a similar bill by McEachin.

SB 785 stated that no state agency or local government “shall discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or status as veteran. This prohibition does not in any way permit or require the lowering of any job requirements, performance standards, or qualifications necessary to successfully perform the duties of the position.”

Other laws already protect most of the groups listed in the bill from discrimination. People who are LGBT have been protected from discrimination in state employment by an executive order issued by the governor.

Kirsten Bokenkamp, communication and policy director for Equality Virginia, the state’s leading LGBT advocacy group, said the defeat of SB 785 was a slap in the face to the LGBT community.

“It is clear that there is an anti-equality majority in the House of Delegates who pretty much need to vote against anything that would make Virginia more equal for LGBT people,” Bokenkamp said.

She said an executive order protecting LGBT state employees from discrimination isn’t enough. “In order to protect LGBT public employees from workplace discrimination, we need a law in place that doesn’t depend on an executive order from the governor.”

Members of the General Laws subcommittee did not respond to requests for a comment on why they voted to kill the legislation. However, Capital News Service spoke to an opponent of McEachin’s bill after it narrowly cleared the Senate General Laws and Technology Committee in January. Sen. Frank Ruff, R-Clarksville, said he believed a law was unnecessary. “It has worked well under executive order by at least the last two governors,” Ruff said.

While hoping the General Assembly eventually will pass an LGBT nondiscrimination law, Equality Virginia is seeking support for such policies from the business community.

Through its Virginia Fairness project, the advocacy group recognizes large corporations and storefront businesses that welcome LGBT employees and protect them from discrimination in the workplace. Equality Virginia recently awarded its Virginia Fairness accreditation to Altria, Capital One, CarMax, Dominion and Genworth.