Trump Administration New Rule Allows LGBT Discrimination

WASHINGTON, D.C — (10-17-18) — President Trump is planning a new rule through its labor Department to allow federal contractors to fire employees based on religious grounds.

While previous presidents have banned discrimination and allowed a very narrow margin in exemption for religious reasons, the Trump administration is once again exploiting the LGBT community by allowing contractors to fire based on their beliefs.

Back in August when the Trump administration issued a directive that expanded a “religious exemption” for federal contractors who were accused of discrimination, LGBT activists feared the worst.

According to the Trump administration, the are planning to create a formal religious-liberty regulation for businesses with federal contracts. This would create a loophole in an Obama administration policy protecting LGBT employees.

Unlike the Trump administration’s August directive, their new regulation would carry stronger legal force and would be extremely difficult to reverse in the current political climate.

Wednesday Oct. 17, the Office of Management and Budget uploaded to its website that the Labor Department “plans to update its regulations to comply with current law regarding protections for religion-exercising organizations.”

A Labor Department spokesperson said the draft text is not available but is expected to be released in December. LGBT advocates fear that this could cement legalized discrimination.

“We just should not be going down the path of permitting discrimination with government funds, and there’s no reason to open up this can of worms,” Sarah Warbelow, legal director of the LGBT advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, told BuzzFeed News.

Buzzfeed asked the spokesperson of the Labor Department…”How does the Labor Department think those Supreme Court rulings apply to contractors making employment decisions? A department spokesperson didn’t answer. The Labor Department also did not explain the circumstances in which a religious exemption may apply.”

We will continue to follow this story and as more information becomes available, we will bring it to you.

Article by: Paul Goldberg, Staff Writer