Constitutional Law

DOJ Reverses Discriminatory Policy

DOJ Pride, an organization comprised of current and former Justice Department employees and contractors and their significant others, will now be treated equally with all other DOJ employee affinity organizations under a revised equal-employment-opportunity policy promulgated by Attorney General Michael Mukasey, the Washington Post reported. "The Department has not been a welcoming employer for GLBT individuals" is how the organization described the work environment under Attorneys General Ashcroft and Gonzales in an October 2007 letter to Senator Feingold.

In 2003, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft barred the group from holding its annual pride celebration in accordance with an unwritten policy that prohibited the agency from sponsoring events without a presidential proclamation. DOJ Pride was also prohibited from using email, public bulletin boards, and meeting rooms. Other agencies have sponsored similar events, and former Attorney General Janet Reno had permitted these events under her tenure. The new policy will allow the use of meeting rooms, the advertisement of events, and the annual pride celebration in one of the department's main halls, just like all other employee affinity organizations.

ACS released an issue brief in 2006 on methods to protect LGBT workers in the absence of clear statutory protections.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on February 05, 2008 (boomark / email).