On July 21, 2014, President Obama issued an Executive Order banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity by federal contractors. The Executive Order amends two existing executive orders: E.O. 11246, which applies to federal contractors, by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of classes protected from employment discrimination; and E.O. 11478, which applies to government agencies, to explicitly prohibit gender identity discrimination.
The part that applies to federal contractors is expected to go into effect in early 2015, after the OFCCP issues implementing regulations. The ban on gender identity bias by federal agencies is effective immediately.
The President has used federal contracts as a test case for the administration’s efforts, recently raising the minimum wage paid to contractor employees. He has noted that his inability to get anything done by working with Congress has led the administration to do what it can outside the legislative branch.
The protections now afforded the LGBT community will cause some additional issues to percolate to the surface as the July 21 Order did not carve out a religious exemption to its requirements. Many religious organizations (see, e.g., Catholic Charities) provide significant services to the U.S. population through government contracts, including Head Start.
Maryland law already prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and, as of October 1, gender identity. There is, however, a religious exemption under Maryland law.
It will be interesting to see how the OFCCP’s regulations address this issue, as well as issues surrounding the OFCCP’s jurisdiction to enforce the Executive Order.