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TOPIC A Should the law forbid employment discrimination based on sexual orientation? |
BACKGROUND:
Sexual Orientation Discrimination. Workplace Fairness, December 19, 2008.
FAQ-like webpage with answers to basic questions about the subject.
LGBT Employees Still Face Discrimination at Work. Business News Daily, July 26, 2011.
A new report finds that evidence of employment discrimination against LGBT people has been consistently documented over the past 40 years in both the private and public sectors.
YES:
Endung Employment Discrimination for LGBT Americans (pdf). ACLU, September 2007.
A law barring discrimination is an important
step towards ensuring fairness in the workplace,
and will continue our nation's ideal of judging
employees by their ability and performance.
Pass ENDA Now. Human Rights Campaign, undated.
HRC's webpage on the proposed federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).
Who Cares About LGBT Workers? Huffington Post, July 31, 2011.
Passage of ENDA should receive far more attention from the media and from LGBT social movement organizations than it has recently.
NO:
Statement on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, September 5, 2007.
It is inappropriate to provide special employment protections for people based on their perceived gender or sexual identity beyond what s legally protected under Title VII.
Testimony of Matthew Staver Before House Education and Labor Subcommittee (pdf). Liberty Counsel, September 12, 2007.
Opposition to ENDA explained in Congressional testimony by the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel
and Dean and Professor of Law at the Liberty University School of Law.
Barney and Barack's Anti-Religion Agenda.Washington Times, April 15, 2010.
ENDA is government-sanctioned viewpoint discrimination. See also this by the same author.
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TOPIC B Should a private employer be able to fire someone for their political beliefs and off-work activities? |
BACKGROUND:
"Lifestyle" Discrimination in Employment. Berkeley Journal of Employment & Labor Law, 2003.
Discusses situations when employers make decisions based on conduct of employees outside the work environment. The link takes you to a page at which you download the article as a rather large (7 MB) pdf file.
Employment At Will: What Does It Mean? Nolo, Undated.
The basic principle in U.S. labor law that lets an employer fire you for almost any reason (or no reason).
Lifestyle Discrimination Laws Are Becoming Increasingly Prevalent. Inside Counsel, June 13, 2011.
The state of play in the law regarding lifestyle discrimination, and what employers need to know about it.
YES:
State Court Restrictions on the Employment-at-Will Doctrine (pdf). Regulation, 1995.
A market view: If an employee can be dismissed at any time and for any reason, then the employee has incentive to be productive.
In Defense of Employment-at-Will. Ludwig von Mises Institute, May 23, 2005.
Despite the emotional appeal of preventing employer abuses, there are compelling reasons to fully restore the employment-at-will doctrine.
NO:
Legislative Briefing Kit: Lifestyle Discrimination in the Workplace. American Civil Liberties Union, December 31, 1998.
Adults should be able to do what they want to do away from the job, so the law should protect employees from discrimination based on non-job related criteria.
Lifestyle Discrimination in the Workplace: Your Right to Privacy Under Attack. American Civil Liberties Union, March 12, 2002.
What a person does during non-working hours away from the workplace should not be the basis for discrimination.
Speechless at Work. The American Prospect, July 3, 2007.
Interview with a hack author about anachronistic work environments where job security and free speech remain in conflict.