Virginia House kills workplace protections for public LGBTQ employees

Tyler Hammel
January 29, 2015

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Read More: GA 2015, HB1498, HB1643, Villanueva, workplace protections

Two bills which proposed protections for LGBTQ public employees were killed in a House subcommittee today.

The bills would have prevented public employers from firing employees based on a “…person’s actual or perceived heterosexuality, bisexuality, homosexuality, or gender identity or expression.”

The two bills which were voted on today, HB1643 and HB1498, were a bipartisan effort proposed by Delegates Kenneth R. Plum (D-36) (top image left) and Ronald A. Villanueva (R-21) (top image right).

“In today’s day and age, we recognize new categories…” said Del. Villanueva, defending his bill before the Republican controlled committee. “The military has advanced programs on this, as well as federal and private employers who have taken leadership on this. And we’re asking VA to take leadership and promote it the Virginia way.”

Chris Freund of the Richmond based Christian group the Family foundation opposed the bill saying  it could set up employers to unnecessary law suites.

Todays vote kills any hope for workplace protections for Virginian LGBTQ’s from the House this 2015 General Assembly session.

A similar bill, SB785,  had passed through a senate committee last week, the first LGBTQ bill to do so since SB701 in 2013. That bill was also struck down in a house committee.

“Even as a bill to protect LGBT public employees from workplace discrimination moves through the Senate, we expect to see more of what we saw today: the anti-LGBT majority in the House of Delegates to stall any progress,” said James Parrish, executive director of Equality Virginia, who had made workplace protections one of their priorities for this year’s GA session. “Creating a more inclusive Virginia would be good for business, would keep the commonwealth competitive in attracting the best employees, and would welcome more families to Virginia – it’s also the right thing to do.”

A full Senate vote on SB 785 is expected within the next few days.

How they voted to table the bill indefinitely:

Yes - Rush (Chairman), Wright, Knight, Ramadan, Hodges, Bell, Richard P., McQuinn,

No - Kory

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Tyler Hammel is a college student who has an unhealthy obsession with comic books. He’s a proud cinephile, owning a sizable film collection that lets you know he doesn't have any friends. An aspiring filmmaker, Tyler currently works with the VCU student organization The Horn RVA, a group of like-minded video journalists with a passion for Richmond based music. When not crafting his own bio Tyler can be found misusing commas,