Letter to All Members of the Democratic Party of the House of Representatives - Anti-Discrimination Policies Protecting LGBT Congressional Employees

Letter

Dear Colleague,

Before the 114th Congress convened, Democratic Whip Hoyer sent a letter requesting that the Republican Majority amend the House Rules to prohibit discrimination and harassment against LGBT House staff with regard to employment. Unfortunately, House Republicans chose to exclude that change from its Rules package and to allow current policies to remain in place -- policies that run counter to our core values as Americans.

Under the current House Rules, an employee who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender may be fired, demoted, denied a promotion, or otherwise discriminated against because of his or her sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. This remains the case even while hundreds of LGBT individuals employed by the House are advancing the work of the Congress and are playing an important role in helping us serve our constituents. We must ensure that these hard-working, dedicated Americans can continue to serve our country without fear of workplace discrimination.

As it stands, Member offices may implement anti-discrimination policies to protect LGBT employees on an individual basis, though many have yet to do so. The absence of an overarching policy set forth in the House Rules makes it all the more important for Members to outline clear anti-discrimination policies of their own.

To this end, we are attaching a sample workplace anti-discrimination policy that you may find helpful in crafting your office's response to the Majority's failure to extend protections to LGBT employees of the House of Representatives. This policy should help to provide clear guidelines to employers and employees. We hope you will consider including its protections of LGBT staff among your office's employment policies.

In light of House Republicans' failure earlier this month to propose Rules for the full House that would protect LGBT staff, it is up to each of us as Members to provide a safe and inclusive environment for our LGBT employees. Without their hard work, we could not as ably conduct the business of the people we are privileged to represent. Thank you for taking the time to review the attached sample policy and for your continued commitment to America's core values of equality and equal opportunity.

Sincerely yours,

/s
STENY H. HOYER
Democratic Whip

/s
MIKE HONDA
Member of Congress

/s
JARED POLIS
Co-Chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus

/s
ROBERT BRADY
Ranking Member of the Committee on House Administration