Would Eugene Scalia Support Anti-LGBT Businesses As Labor Secretary?
In Light Of Labor Department’s Decision To Condone Anti-LGBT Discrimination, Eugene Scalia Must Explain His Views On LGBT Rights
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, the US Department of Labor announced a proposed rule that would let businesses discriminate based on things like LGBT status. As Congress prepares to consider Eugene Scalia as a nominee for Labor Secretary, Allied Progress called on Scalia to make his views on LGBT discrimination public:
“American workers deserve a Labor Secretary who won’t pick and choose which of them are worth advocating for,” said Derek Martin, director of Allied Progress.
He continued, “We already know about Scalia’s extreme and outdated view that companies shouldn’t be responsible for sexual harassment at the workplace. But if Scalia also believes businesses should be able to discriminate against employees (or customers) based on LGBT status, his sense of right and wrong needs more than just a tune up. The public must know where he stands — and which Senators still stand with him.”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Yesterday, The Trump Department Of Labor Proposed A New Rule Permitting Businesses With A Broadly Defined “Religious Purpose” To Discriminate Against Their Workers.
The Trump Department Of Labor Proposed A Rule To Let Businesses With A Broadly Defined “Religious Purpose” Discriminate Against Their Workers
The Trump Administration Proposed A New Rule That Would “Let Businesses With Federal Contracts Cite Religious Objections As A Valid Reason To Discriminate Against Their Workers.” “The Trump administration on Wednesday formally proposed a new rule to let businesses with federal contracts cite religious objections as a valid reason to discriminate against their workers on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, LGBTQ status, and other characteristics — thereby skirting worker protections created by past presidents.” [Dominic Holden, “Trump’s Latest Proposal Would Let Businesses Discriminate Based On LGBTQ Status, Race, Religion, And More,” Buzzfeed News, 08/14/19]
- The Rule Would Apply To Federal Contractors That Claim A “Religious Purpose” Though It Does Not Need Be Their Only Purpose.“The 46-page draft rule from the Labor Department would apply to a range of so-called religious organizations — including corporations, schools, and societies — provided that they claim a ‘religious purpose.’ […] The Trump administration makes clear in the draft rule that a corporation needn’t focus entirely on religion to qualify, saying, ‘The contractor must be organized for a religious purpose, meaning that it was conceived with a self-identified religious purpose. This need not be the contractor’s only purpose.’” [Dominic Holden, “Trump’s Latest Proposal Would Let Businesses Discriminate Based On LGBTQ Status, Race, Religion, And More,” Buzzfeed News, 08/14/19]
The Proposal Could Apply To As Many As 420,000 Federal Contractors. “The proposal could apply to up to 420,000 contractors, according to the draft to be published in the Federal Register. ‘While only a subset of contractors and would-be contractors may wish to seek this exemption, the Supreme Court, Congress, and the President have each affirmed the importance of protecting religious liberty for those organizations who wish to exercise it,’ it reads.” [Dominic Holden, “Trump’s Latest Proposal Would Let Businesses Discriminate Based On LGBTQ Status, Race, Religion, And More,” Buzzfeed News, 08/14/19]
The Rule Was Specifically Designed To Impact How Some Businesses Are Make “‘Employment Decisions.’”
The Labor Department Explicitly Claimed The Rule Was Designed To Affect How Certain Companies Make “‘Employment Decisions.’” “According to the [The Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs], the new rule would ‘clarify that religious organizations may make employment decisions consistent with their sincerely held religious tenets and beliefs without fear of sanction by the federal government.’” [Cristina Cabrera, “New Trump Admin Rule Would Strip LGBTQ Protections Against Workplace Bias,” Talking Points Memo, 08/14/19]
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