Will 2010 Be the Year that ENDA Passes?

29 January 2010

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is a proposed bill in the U.S. Congress that would prohibit discrimination against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Gender identity includes gender-related identity, appearance, or mannerisms or other gender-related characteristics of an individual, with or without regard to the individual's designated sex at birth.

Although the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) dominated the headlines after the election of Barack Obama, it was also widely believed, but less publicized, that ENDA would be among the bills swiftly passed into law. But neither the EFCA nor ENDA passed in 2009, after years of it being up for a vote, because Congress and the White House focused their energies on health care reform.

In late 2009, however, Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) predicted that Congress would pass ENDA in 2010. President Obama is a supporter of the bill and is expected to sign it into law.