VoluntaryAmerican
11-08-2013, 08:44 PM
WASHINGTON - An amendment from Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) would expand the types of religious groups exempted from a proposed ban on workplace discrimination against gays, lesbians, and transgendered people.
His plan would also strengthen the language shielding religious employers from the antibias bill, which Toomey supported Monday night, with reservations.
As part of the wrangling over Toomey's support for a key procedural vote, he won assurances that he will be able to offer his amendment before the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) comes up for final Senate approval later this week. His plan faces a high hurdle to passage. He will need 60 votes.
Under Toomey's plan, exemptions from the ban would cover organizations managed by a church or religious group, those formally affiliated with a particular religion, or those that teach a curriculum directed toward propagating a particular religion.
His amendment specifies that the exemption includes groups that don't primarily engage in religious work - for example, a school that teaches religion only a few hours a week, or a hospital affiliated with a religious group.
Under existing law and the ENDA proposal, exceptions are only for institutions whose "purpose and character are primarily religious." (Civil rights laws let faith groups use preferential treatment in hiring people of the same religion but bar preferences based on factors such as race, gender, or other factors.)
Toomey worried that the ENDA language on faith groups was vague and open to court interpretation. "Different circuit courts have come to different conclusions," he said Tuesday. "There's a lot of uncertainty and inconsistency."
While he voted to advance the bill Monday, he has not committed to supporting its final passage.
http://articles.philly.com/2013-11-07/news/43734111_1_toomey-amendment-conservative-groups-faith-groups
His plan would also strengthen the language shielding religious employers from the antibias bill, which Toomey supported Monday night, with reservations.
As part of the wrangling over Toomey's support for a key procedural vote, he won assurances that he will be able to offer his amendment before the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) comes up for final Senate approval later this week. His plan faces a high hurdle to passage. He will need 60 votes.
Under Toomey's plan, exemptions from the ban would cover organizations managed by a church or religious group, those formally affiliated with a particular religion, or those that teach a curriculum directed toward propagating a particular religion.
His amendment specifies that the exemption includes groups that don't primarily engage in religious work - for example, a school that teaches religion only a few hours a week, or a hospital affiliated with a religious group.
Under existing law and the ENDA proposal, exceptions are only for institutions whose "purpose and character are primarily religious." (Civil rights laws let faith groups use preferential treatment in hiring people of the same religion but bar preferences based on factors such as race, gender, or other factors.)
Toomey worried that the ENDA language on faith groups was vague and open to court interpretation. "Different circuit courts have come to different conclusions," he said Tuesday. "There's a lot of uncertainty and inconsistency."
While he voted to advance the bill Monday, he has not committed to supporting its final passage.
http://articles.philly.com/2013-11-07/news/43734111_1_toomey-amendment-conservative-groups-faith-groups