WASHINGTON, DC - After President Obama issued an executive order banning discriminating against federal workers or federal contract workers on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, Mary Kay Henry, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) issued the following statement:

By issuing this executive order today, President Obama made a clear statement that discrimination in the workplace in unacceptable. In the face of Congressional inaction, the President showed the strong leadership necessary to end discrimination against non-union LGBT workers employed by the federal government or federal contractors.

"Despite Senate passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) last November, the House has yet to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. Due to this failure of leadership in the House, companies operating in 29 states can still deny non-union gay or lesbian workers employment, discipline them unjustly or fire them without any legal recourse. In 32 states, a non-union worker can be discriminated against on this basis of his or her gender identity, again without legal recourse.

"There is still much to do to ensure true equality for workers in all states, but the President's executive order is an important step toward extending protections in the workplace to all Americans."

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