As expected, the U.S. House of Representatives has again passed and sent to the Senate one of the Democratic majority’s priority bills, the Equality Act (H.R. 5), far-reaching legislation that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, credit, federal funding, and jury service. The Equality Act is but the first of several major employment-related bills that the House is expected to pass in the coming weeks, all of which if enacted would dramatically alter current workplace compliance requirements.
Employers may recall that when the House passed a similar version of the Equality Act two years ago, there was little expectation that the then-Republican Senate would consider the measure (it did not) or that President Trump would sign the bill into law.
Now, of course, President Biden, a strong supporter of the bill, has replaced former President Trump, and Democrats control both Houses of Congress – albeit by slim margins – creating a greater expectation that the Equality Act could become law sometime this year. However, as discussed in more detail below, the path to enactment is not as smooth as it may seem.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.