Although less far-reaching than a previously proposed Human Rights Ordinance, Executive Order No. 1-2009 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in any municipal employment. The statement of administrative policy also directs departments and other internal operations of City government to:

• Update the City’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy and employment manual.
• Discuss discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in related employee training sessions.
• Incorporate standard language prohibiting this form of discrimination in all appropriate documentation, reporting such efforts to the City Controller.

The Executive Order became effective today when Luecke signed his name to the two-page document.

“The City of South Bend is a progressive community that believes in freedom and equality of opportunity for all. We treat everyone with dignity and respect,” Luecke said. “This order ensures that my administration will not tolerate discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in employment decisions, including hiring, firing, promotion, compensations or other terms and conditions of city employment.”

Any City employee or applicant for employment with the City of South Bend who experiences employment-related discrimination – whether because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or heterosexual – is encouraged to report such incidents to the Division of Human Resources, which will investigate and attempt to resolve the concerns. City employees are also encouraged to report incidents to their supervisor, department head or a Human Resources representative.

An executive order is a statement of administrative policy issued by the mayor and applicable only to the internal operations of city government. It does not impact private employers.

Although this represents Luecke’s first executive order, the mayor indicated he may issue executive orders “from time to time on matters within the scope of Mayor’s office.” Executive orders are a common tool used in governmental executive branches from mayors and governors to the president.

The South Bend Human Rights Ordinance already prohibits City government from discriminating against anyone based on race, color, disability, religion, sex, age, national origin or veteran status. Sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination includes being treated differently or harassed because of real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

Contact:  Mikki Dobski, Director of Communications & Special Projects, 235-5855 or 876-1564, or City Attorney Chuck Leone, 235-9241.

How Does Today’s Announcement Affect Trans People? Some good news and some “we’ll see.”

(NCTE: Washington, DC) Today, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum on Federal Benefits and Non-Discrimination.  The memorandum follows the Administration’s review regarding what benefits may be extended to the same-sex partners of federal employees in the civil service and the foreign service within the confines of existing federal laws and statutes.  The memorandum also directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to issue guidelines within 90 days to all executive departments and agencies about how to comply with and implement the civil service laws, which make it unlawful to discriminate against federal employees or applicants for federal employment on the basis of factors not related to job performance.

Today’s announcement was a small first step in addressing the needs of LGBT people in federal employment. Obviously, any policy that benefits same-sex couples will benefit transgender people since many trans people are in same-sex relationships.  But it would be a pyrrhic victory indeed if transgender federal employees could count on limited partnership benefits, but not on actual protection from employment discrimination.  Thus NCTE has and continues to prioritize securing clear policies from the administration that federal employees are protected based on gender identity and expression.  It is one of our eleven priorities for 2009 and progress is being made with this announcement today.

While we are just as concerned as many other LGBT people and organizations about the need to increase the pace of positive policy change, it is nonetheless clear from our ongoing work with the administration, as well as public statements made today by OPM and other administration officials, that it is their intention and commitment that the OPM guidance to be issued in the next 90 days will provide real, robust and meaningful protections for transgender federal employees and job applicants.  NCTE will continue to provide expertise as OPM moves forward.

Officials we spoke with today reconfirmed that the decision is firm that the new guidelines to agencies and departments will make clear that discrimination based on gender identity and expression is forbidden under civil service policies and that the policy will be enforced by this Administration. We will be meeting with them in the coming weeks, as part of our continuing work with them, to discuss the specific guidance that will be sent to the many agencies of the federal government to communicate the decisions and explain the policy. The process is also already underway at OPM to update federal personnel materials to make it clear that the federal government does not tolerate discrimination based on gender identity and expression in its hiring practices.

We are now conducting an independent legal analysis of the memo signed by the President today, and we will work with OPM to make sure that they will have a sufficient and meaningful impact protecting transgender federal employees from job discrimination.

We hope that you will join with us in continuing to look for and advocate for these important steps. While we are heartened by our conversations with White House officials and glad for their commitment to providing equal opportunities for all Americans, we will also continue to work diligently to ensure that these decisions are implemented and communicated effectively.  The White House understands, as we do, that this is the first step of many steps we need to take to bring about equality for transgender people.

We know you share our commitment that transgender people need and deserve the opportunity to work, being judged by the quality of our work and the skills to do the job, not by our gender identity or expression.

For more information, visit the National Center for Transgender Equality at http://www.nctequality.org/