The US Senate approved a bill prohibiting discrimination at work over sexual orientation or gender identity, but the measure faces an uncertain future in the House of Representatives.
Senators on Thursday voted 64-32 in favour of the Employee Non-Discrimination Act, the first legislation in US history to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) people in the workplace.
Ten Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the Employee Non-Discrimination Act.
President Barack Obama immediately praised the Senate’s action, insisting that ‘no one should ever lose their job simply because of who they are or who they love’.
‘Today’s victory is a tribute to all those who fought for this progress ever since a similar bill was introduced after the Stonewall riots more than three decades ago,’ the president said in a statement, referring to a 1969 episode in which LGBT patrons of a New York bar fought back against police harassment.
But a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner said earlier this week that the Ohio Republican ‘believes this legislation will increase frivolous litigation and cost American jobs, especially small business jobs’.