PRESIDENT OBAMA’S GUEST at STATE of the UNION URGES HIM TO DO MORE TO COMBAT ANTI-LGBT WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION

Kilker on the left with partner Sara Nelson

Sitting with First Lady Michelle Obama at this evening’s State of the Union Address will be Lorelei Kilker, an openly lesbian woman who came forward to challenge sex-based discriminatory treatment at her workplace and, after several years, was part of a large settlement the Equal Opportunity Commission reached with the employer, Western Sugar of Colorado, in October 2011.  President Obama is expected to use Ms. Kilker’s case to highlight how our country must do more to ensure that all citizens have a fair shot at the American Dream.  However, LGBT Americans like Ms. Kilker still do not have a federal law to protect against anti-LGBT workplace discrimination, and in a majority of states it is completely legal to fire someone just because they are gay or transgender.  In two interviews given before the President’s address, Ms. Kilker endorsed the idea of President Obama signing an executive order to combat anti-LGBT workplace discrimination.

Freedom to Work and other LGBT organizations have long called on President Obama to sign an executive order banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity at companies that profit from federal contracts.


For more information on Freedom to Work, please visit:
http://www.freedomtowork.org/