Help get “The Fair Employment Act” to pass
Help Make History in Texas!
Dear friends,
make no mistake about it, history has already been made in Texas this session. An unprecedented number of bills have been filed in the Texas Legislature that are pro-LGBT. Additionally, for the first time in Texas history, “The Fair Employment Act” has actually had a committee hearing.
We have an opportunity here to make history again but it will take all of us working together to make that happen. We need “The Fair Employment Act” to get out of committee, onto the floor, and ultimately to pass this session and become law.
What is “The Fair Employment Act”? I’m glad you asked. Currently Texas is one of several states in which you are legally allowed to be fired, denied employment, or otherwise discriminated against in the workplace without haveing any legal leverage. “The Fair Employment Act” (Senate Bill 237, SB237) would provide legal leverage to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons who suffer from discrimination in the workplace.
Imagine one day, you log into facebook and you ‘like’ a pro-equality post by a friend and your boss infers from that post that you are a member of the LGBT community. The next day, you are fired and your boss tells you that it’s because they think that you are gay. Currently, the only thing you can do is to clean out your desk and start looking for a new job. This bill aims to change that.
The Fair Employment Act would not allow anyone to sue their employer for employment discrimination. It would allow employees who experience employment discrimination to lodge a complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission, which would then investigate.
Employment Discrimination Statistics:
- An estimated 431,000 members of the Texas workforce identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
- 26% of transgender Texans report being fired solely based on their gender identity.
- 12% of lesbian and gay Texans report being fired because of their sexual orientation.
- 37% of gay and lesbian Texans report being harassed at work due to their sexual orientation .
The Action:
Right now, the bill is stuck in Senate Committee on Economic Development. At least 2 of the 7 members of the committee are ready to vote “yes”. We only need to convince 2 more Senators on that committee to vote for the bill. We urge you to call the 5 members who are not yet “yes” votes and urge them to support it.
Script:
Here is a suggested script which you can modify to fit your message.
As a Texan, I believe that nobody should be fired from their job or denied employment for anything other than how well they perform their job duties. I agree with the 76% of Texans who support passage of SB237 and I am asking that you do everything in your power to make it law THIS SESSION.
If you are a business owner, a veteran, or a constituent you should also ensure that you let them know that but this call is not limited to those who fit in those categories.
Who to call:
Currently, these are the 5 senators that we need to call:
Sen. Bob Deuell – Chair
(R-Greenville)
Sen. Kevin Eltife
(R-Tyler)
Sen. Brian Birdwell
(R-Granbury)
Sen. Kelly Hancock
(R-N.Richland Hills)
Sen. Troy Fraser
(R-Horseshoe Bay)
GetOUT! GetACTIVE! GetEQUAL!
