Don Nickles: “I have been an employer. I never asked that question. I do not want to ask that question. I am afraid if this bill…”

“I have been an employer. I never asked that question. I do not want to ask that question. I am afraid if this bill became law, you would have to ask that question. Looking at the statutes under title VII, it talks about the power of the EEOC to conduct investigations under section 2000e-8. It basically says: ``Every employer, employment agency * * * subject to this subchapter shall''--not ``may''--``shall (1) make and keep such records relevant to the determinations of whether unlawful employment practices have been or are being committed, (2) preserve such records for such periods, and (3) make such reports therefrom as the Commission shall prescribe by regulation or orders thereunder.'' And so on. In other words, the EEOC is going to say keep records. They now have to keep records. Employers have to keep records on their employment practices, on people they hire, on their race, on their sex, on their gender, and now we would include sexual orientation. What does that mean? It means employers are going to have to ask their employees, ``What is your sexual orientation? Are you a heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual?''”