Press

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force today praised President Clinton1s signing of an Executive Order prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in the federal civilian workforce.

"We applaud President Clinton for this act of leadership and fairness," stated Task Force political director Rebecca Isaacs. "Federal civilian workers will now be covered by a uniform policy."

The Executive Order, entitled Further Amendment to Executive Order 11478, Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal Government, ensures that all federal agencies ban employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Many but not all federal agencies currently have some form of policy prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination. This Executive Order adds sexual orientation to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, and age as the list of categories for which discrimination is prohibited. Upon signing the order the President also advocated for the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which is currently before Congress.

"This is an important step in countering employment discrimination. All people should be able to work free from discrimination," said Isaacs.

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The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up. We do this by training activists, organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and by building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.