Listen to this articleA bill seeking to prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity will have a public committee hearing Friday, Jan. 25 at 9:00 a.m. at the Capitol Complex, West Building, Room 010.
Sponsored by Rep. Christine Johnson, D-Salt Lake City, HB 89 or Antidiscrimination Act Amendments seeks to amend Utah law to make it illegal for employers to refuse to hire, promote, demote or fire an employee based on his or her real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill also makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against otherwise qualified gay or transgender employees on the basis of wages and privileges and conditions of employment.
Local gay rights group Equality Utah has scheduled several people to testify tomorrow morning, but supporters of this bill are still encouraged to attend the hearing.
They can also write or call members of the House Business & Labor Committee to encourage them to pass the bill out of committee and onto the House floor for debate. Contact information for committee members is as follows:
Chair
Dist. 63 Rep. Stephen Clark (R) sclark@utah.gov
Vice-Chair
Dist. 39 Rep. Jim Dunnigan (R) jdunnigan@utah.gov
Committee Members
Dist. 74 Rep. David Clark (R) dclark@utah.gov
Dist. 2 Rep. Ben Ferry (R) bcferry@utah.gov
Dist. 8 Rep. Gage Froerer (R) gfroerer@utah.gov
Dist. 16 Rep. Kevin Garn (R) kgarn@utah.gov
Dist. 41 Rep. Todd Kiser (R) todd-kiser@utah.gov
Dist. 20 Rep. Paul Neuenschwander (R) pauln@utah.gov
Dist. 66 Rep. Mike Morley (R) mikemorley@utah.gov
Dist. 45 Rep. Mark Walker (R) mwalker@utah.gov
Dist. 22 Rep. Carl Duckworth (D) cduckworth@utah.gov
Dist. 30 Rep. Jackie Biskupski (D) jbiskupski@utah.gov
Dist. 9 Rep. Neil Hansen (D) neilhansen@utah.gov
Equality Utah has provided the following sample email to guide bill supporters in writing. They have said that ideal emails should be brief and respectful in tone.
“Dear Rep ____, I’m asking you to support HB 89 Antidiscrimination Act Amendments. Utahns are routinely discriminated in the workplace based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Protections should be expanded to prevent such discrimination. This bill should be passed out of committee and sent to the House Floor for a full debate. Please support HB 89 Antidiscrimination Act Amendments. Thank you.”
