Labor Department Finishes Drafting Anti-LGBT Discrimination Rule

Working under Obama’s orders, the Labor Department has been working on Anti-LGBT Discrimination regulations since this summer. The rule is now finalized and would ban all federal contractors from discriminatory practices against LGBT workers. It has been sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The rule will implement Obama’s Executive Order 13672, which he signed in July.

“The president tasked the secretary of labor with extending these workplace protections to LGBT Americans in the federal contracting workforce, directing the department to prepare regulations implementing the changes to EO 11246 within 90 days,” the spokesperson from the Labor Department told BuzzFeed News. “While 18 states, the District of Columbia, and many businesses, large and small, already offer workplace protections to LGBT employees, July’s executive order was the first federal action to ensure LGBT workplace equality.”

There are currently no estimates as to how long the review by OMB will take.