Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Labor proposed a rule that attempts to let government contractors discriminate against workers in the name of religion. In response, Winnie Stachelberg, executive vice president for External Affairs at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
Yet again, the Trump administration is trying to undermine civil rights protections under the guise of freedom of religion. This proposal opens the door to discrimination against federal contractors, who represent a fifth of the nation’s workforce, by weaponizing religion to justify discrimination against LGBTQ people, religious minorities, and other marginalized groups. This shameful plan comes as the Justice Department is lobbying for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to reverse its position that federal workplace protections apply to LGBTQ people. Discrimination in the workplace is real, it is illegal, and protecting workers from harm, including LGBTQ workers, does not infringe upon anyone’s freedom of religion.
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