White House officials will meet with gay rights activists on Thursday to discuss implementing plans for prohibiting workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
The conversation was planned just days after the Obama administration made public the president’s plans to sign an executive order barring federal contractors from discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees. He spoke for the first time about his intent to sign the new order at the Democratic National Committee’s annual LGBT fundraiser in New York City on Tuesday.
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Attendees on Thursday will focus on the fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in United States v. Windsor, which last year overturned a major portion of the law that prevented federal recognition of same-sex marriages, the Huffington Post reported.
Also this week, the U.S. Department of Justice is expected to release a report on its progress enforcing benefits for gay individuals, according to Politico. Currently, 29 states lack workplace protections for LGBT employees. Additionally, four others allow terminations based on gender identity. Among President Barack Obama’s efforts to expand the rights of LGBT Americans, he has overseen the repeal of the military’s ban on openly gay service members, the demise of a travel and immigration prohibition against people with HIV, the addition of eight openly gay federal judges, and the implementation of government policies recognizing same-sex marriage.
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