Obama Gives Protection to Gay, Transgender Workers

Federal workers and contractors who are gay and transgender are getting new protections from President Barack Obama. Obama is signing executive orders that will prohibit employment discrimination against those workers by the federal government and its contracting agencies. Some religious groups and conservatives urged him to provide a broad exemption for religious groups, but Obama declined. Last month, the Supreme Court allowed some religiously oriented businesses to opt out of Obama’s requirement that employers provide free birth control.