Two months after a housing-nondiscrimination bill was stalled from reaching the state Senate floor, two committees have scheduled hearings seeking input on bills that would extend nondiscrimination protections in employment and public accommodations to the LGBT community.
The Labor and Industry Committee scheduled a hearing for 1 p.m. Aug. 30, and the State Government Committee has a hearing 10:30 a.m. Sept. 26. Both take place in Hearing Room 1 of the North Office Building at the State Capitol in Harrisburg.
For the employment-nondiscrimination bill, the public can submit written comments by emailing [email protected] or visiting the SB1306 public-comment box available at www.senatorbaker.com. Public-comment instructions for the public-accommodations bill have yet to be announced. A representative from the office of Sen. Mike Folmer, chair of the State Government Committee, was not immediately available for comment.
State Sen. Lisa Baker, a Luzerne County Republican, chairs the Labor and Industry Committee.
“Individuals and groups on both sides of the issue felt that a hearing focused on facts and details would be useful,” Jennifer Wilson, Baker’s chief of staff, wrote in an email to PGN.
The committee would like the public to share specific instances of discrimination, documentation about how existing workplace policies and municipal ordinances have functioned and how any issues have been addressed.
“The broad philosophical arguments related to these issues are well known,” according to a hearing announcement sent out by Baker’s office. “What the committee is seeking are detailed arguments for or against the provisions set forth in the bill that can be used to help members determine whether it adequately addresses workplace discrimination as written, or whether changes to the current language might be necessary.”
The proposed LGBT employment-nondiscrimination bill is available at http://ow.ly/V6Jv303tDTD.
Several organizations have been asked to testify at the hearing. Wilson said this week that the committee was still finalizing its list of confirmed speakers. The committee would not vote on employment protections until after Labor Day, at the earliest, when the legislature is back in session.
No representatives from Equality Pennsylvania will participate, said Levana Layendecker, deputy director of the organization. She said they were not invited to speak. Instead, Equality Pennsylvania officials will attend a White House Regional LGBT Summit that’s being hosted in Pittsburgh on the same day as the Labor and Industry hearing.
Equality Pennsylvania previously cast blame on Baker for stalling the Senate vote on a bill for LGBT-housing protections, which made its way out of the Urban Affairs and Housing Committee in June with an amendment to include employment protections. Baker didn’t want the Senate to vote on the bill until Labor and Industry could hold its own hearing on employment protections.
Since the hearing was announced last week, more than 300 Pennsylvanians contacted their legislators in support of the bill, Layendecker said.
“What I assume we’ll hear from the hearing is that protecting LGBT people from discrimination in employment is good for the state’s economy,” she said, adding it’s up to Labor and Industry to decide if the hearing will lead to a committee vote. “It’s hard to say what they’ll decide. It’s really hard to predict how this hearing will impact protections moving forward.”
There has been no word yet on whether the Pennsylvania LGBTQ Leadership Council will participate in this month’s hearing on employment nondiscrimination. The group of nonprofit executive directors formed this year with a mission to support education and advocacy efforts in state government.