San Francisco supervisor axes municipal contracts with North Carolina
Recent developments in anti-LGBT legislation in North Carolina have strained the state’s relationships with other regions that do not agree share those values. Here in San Francisco, Supervisor Scott Wiener has begun proceedings to halt all of the city’s contracts with companies based out of North Carolina. This ban comes on the heels of North Carolina’s recent passage of legislation which seeks to limit the protections afforded to members of the LGBT community under the Civil Rights Act.
Wiener, who made the announcement through Twitter, condemned the discriminatory legislation from Tar Heel State, while also taking the opportunity to give praise to the National Basketball Association, which made announcements of a similar ban earlier in the week. The NBA has indicated that it will be relocating the 2017 All-Star Game away from Charlotte, North Carolina, due to the passage of the controversial civil liberties legislation.
North Carolina’s Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, colloquially known as the Bathroom Bill, restricts transgender persons from using public facilities such as bathrooms in accordance with their identifying gender, and instructs that all persons must use public facilities in accordance with the gender specified on their birth certificates. While the state has assured employees that they are still able to claim discrimination on the basis of race, religion, and some other common fields of discrimination, discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation were left conspicuously unprotected.
Workplace discrimination should not be tolerated under any circumstances, either by the victim or by those who witness the abuse. An experienced discrimination attorney can help ensure that all employees’ rights are protected, strengthening the workplace as a whole.