SB 237: Employment Non-Discrimination

Sen. Leticia Van de Putte

Senate Bill 237 by Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio) would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression. Under current law it is illegal in Texas to discriminate in employment based on a person’s race, religion, gender, national origin, age, or disability. It remains legal to discriminate based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. There is no federal law prohibiting employment discrimination against the LGBT community (although, according to  a 2011 poll by the Center for American Progress, 9 out of 10 American voters erroneously believe that federal law does provide LGBT people employment protections).

This is the first time that a bill to prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression has been filed in the Senate.

SB 237 is identical to HB 238 by Rep. Mike Villarreal (D - San Antonio).

Why file the same exact bill twice, one in the House and once in the Senate?

Sets of identical, or nearly identical, bills filed in both the House and Senate are called "companions." Bills are filed in these sets because of a quirk in the way legislation is passed in the Texas legislature. The Texas Constitution requires that bills be "read" on three separate days in both the House and Senate before they become law. That doesn't mean that the whole bill is read, it just means that the bill is mentioned and that some action is taken.

So if a bill is introduced in the House (that means it starts with "HB" (for "House Bill")) its first "reading" is when the bill is sent to one of several dozen House committees for consideration. If the committee chooses to consider the bill they will hold a public hearing (when anybody can walk off the street and tell the committee what they think of the bill) and then, if they think the bill is a good idea, the committee can vote to "report favorably" on the bill, basically recommend that the entire House should vote on it. Bills that are reported favorably are then sent to one of several "calendar" committees that schedule the bill for its second "reading."

The legislature only meets for 140 days, and this process can take one to three months.

HB 238: Prohibit Employment Discrimination

Rep. Mike Villarreal

House Bill 238 by Rep. Mike Villarreal (D-San Antonio) would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression. Villarreal has filed similar legislation for the last 5 sessions (78R HB 1136, 79R HB 1515, 80R HB 900, 81R HB 538, 82R HB 665).

Under current law it is illegal in Texas to discriminate in employment based on a person’s race, religion, gender, national origin, age, or disability. It remains legal to discriminate based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. There is no federal law prohibiting employment discrimination against the LGBT community (although, according to  a 2011 poll by the Center for American Progress, 9 out of 10 American voters erroneously believe that federal law does provide LGBT people employment protections).

HB 238 would allow the Texas Workforce Commission's Civil Rights Division (TWC CRD) to investigate claims of employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression in the same way that it investigates claims of discrimination based on the other protected attributes. The TWC CRD allows individuals who believe they have experienced prohibited employment discrimination to file a complaint in person in Austin, over the phone, or via notarized form. If the complaint warrants investigation the TWC CRD pursues it further. The Legislative Budget Board (an agency of the State of Texas) estimates that if employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression was prohibited that the TWC CRD would need to investigate 474 credible cases a year.

There is a great deal of evidence that employment discrimination is pervasive and widespread in Texas:

• Men in same-sex relationships in Texas make 9% less on average than their straight married counterparts according to information from the Census Bureau,
• Households in Texas headed by two women make one average 11% less than households headed by a man and a woman according to information from the Census Bureau,
• In a 2010 survey 26% of transgender Texans reported losing a job because of their gender identity or expression.

Prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression has overwhelming public support. In a 2010 poll conducted by Equality Texas,

• 75.4% of registered voters in Texas said they support ending employment and housing discrimination based on sexual orientation,
• 69.7% said they supported ending employment and housing discrimination for transgender citizens.

With the reality of employment discrimination clear, a mechanism already in place for investigating it and strong public support for addressing the issue why has Rep. Villarreal's decade long effort to pass legislation thus far been fruitless? Because there is a disconnect between the people of the state of Texas and the 183 elected officials who create laws in Texas. If HB 238 is to become law we must bridge that disconnect, and the only way to do it is by contacting your members of the legislature and telling them that you expect their support for HB 238.

If you live in Rep. Villarreal's district please call and thank him for his support, and ask what you can do to help. You can reach him at (210) 734-893.


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