Proposal would ban job discrimination against gay, transgender st

The Georgia House’s first openly gay lawmaker on Wednesday proposed job protections for gay and transgender state employees.

Rep. Karla Drenner, D-Avondale Estates, has 70 co-sponsors on House Bill 630, which would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. A dozen of them are Republicans.

“A lot of Fortune 100 and 500 companies in Georgia offer these kinds of protections for a reason,” Drenner said. “It’s good business.”

The policy could have helped the state avoid a three-year legal battle with former General Assembly legislative editor Vandy Beth Glenn.

Glenn, hired as a man in 2005, was fired about two years later when she informed her supervisor she would not hide her gender identity. She won a federal discrimination lawsuit last year.

The bill was introduced too far into the current session to move this year, but it will remain a viable bill through next year’s session.

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April Hunt

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