On the recordNovember 7, 2013
over the course of this debate, we have documented the tremendous business community support for this bill, including over 100 major companies. A key reason for that support is that ENDA is closely modeled on title VII of the civil rights law. Employers are familiar with the law, they understand how to comply with the law, and it provides certainty. The many Fortune 500 companies that have employment nondiscrimination policies in place have modeled their policies on the nondiscrimination requirements of title VII. Unfortunately, by proposing an entirely new definition of businesses that would qualify for an exemption from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, this amendment calls into question that very certainty. ENDA already exempts the same religious organizations that qualify for an exemption under title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Under current law, the exemption includes not only houses of worship--churches, synagogues, and mosques--but also religious schools and religiously affiliated hospitals. The exemption in this bill passed the House of Representatives on a broad bipartisan basis, 402 to 25, in 2007. In determining what organizations should qualify for religious exemption, most courts have also said that where the primary activity of the organization is commerce or profit, despite strongly held religious beliefs by the owners, the organization may not discriminate in hiring. That is what this amendment, I believe, seeks to change.…
