Page:ENDA Senate bill 2013.pdf/2

Rh ;SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the "Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2013".
 * SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

The purposes of this Act are—


 * (1) to address the history and persistent, wide-spread pattern of discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity by private sector employers and local, State, and Federal Government employers;


 * (2) to provide an explicit, comprehensive Federal prohibition against employment discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity, including meaningful and effective remedies for any such discrimination;


 * (3) to invoke congressional powers, including the powers to enforce the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, and to regulate interstate commerce pursuant to section 8 of article I of the Constitution, in order to prohibit employment discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity; and


 * (4) to reinforce the Nation's commitment to fairness and equal opportunity in the workplace consistent with the fundamental right of religious freedom.

†S 815 ES