# The Equality Act: What It Does

The Equality Act is a civil rights bill designed to expand federal anti-discrimination protections to cover sexual orientation and gender identity. Currently, federal law prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and other areas based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, but it doesn't explicitly include sexual orientation or gender identity. This bill would add those two categories to existing civil rights laws, meaning it would be illegal for employers, landlords, businesses, and other entities to discriminate against someone based on whether they're LGBTQ+.

In practical terms, this means a person couldn't be fired from their job, denied housing, refused service at a restaurant or store, or denied other services simply because they're gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. The bill applies these protections across multiple areas of life—employment, housing, public accommodations (like hotels and restaurants), education, and access to federal programs. It also clarifies that these protections apply regardless of whether someone is in a same-sex or opposite-sex relationship.

The bill is significant because it would create a uniform national standard for LGBTQ+ protections. Right now, protections vary dramatically depending on where you live. Some states and cities have strong anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBTQ+ people, while other states have no such protections at all. This bill would establish a baseline protection everywhere in the country. However, the bill has been controversial, with supporters arguing it's necessary for equal rights and opponents raising concerns about how it might interact with religious freedom protections and other existing laws.

Equality Act

Merkley, Jeff

Equality Act This bill prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity with respect to businesses, employment, housing, federally funded programs, and other settings. Specifically, the bill expands Title II and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit public accommodations and federally funded programs, respectively, from discriminating based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. It also includes stores, transit services, recreational facilities, and establishments that provide health care, accounting, or legal services as public accommodations under Title II. The bill also expands Title IV (desegregation of public schools) and Title VII (employment discrimination) to specifically include sexual orientation and gender identity. (The Supreme Court held in Bostock v. Clayton County that Title VII's prohibition of employment discrimination based on sex also prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.) The bill similarly expands the Fair Housing Act (discrimination in public and private housing) to include sexual orientation and gender identity. It also prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity by creditors and with respect to jury selection. The bill defines sex for purposes of the aforementioned provisions to include sex stereotypes, pregnancy, childbirth, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.