Obama Has Been Quietly Looking Out For Brothers And Sisters

http://www.hrc.org/resources/obama-administration-policy-legislative-and-other-advancements-on-behalf-of


Summary of Regulatory and Policy Changes
2009

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) adopted a regulation ending the ban on ? -positive visitors and immigrants in October 2009.*

The State Department reversed a Bush Administration policy in June 2009 that refused to use a same-sex marriage license as evidence of a name change for passports.

President Obama issued two Presidential Memoranda (in June 2009 and June 2010) directing federal agencies to extend whatever benefits they could, under existing authority, to the same-sex partners of federal employees.

In June 2009, the State Department extended numerous benefits to the partners of Foreign Service officers, including diplomatic passports, access to overseas medical and training facilities, inclusion in housing allocations, and access to emergency evacuation.*



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2016

In January 2016, the Department of Education announced that it would publish a searchable database in the coming months of educational institutions which have sought and/or received an exemption from federal civil rights law in order to discriminate.**

In March 2016, the Obama Administration appointed Raffi Freedman-Gurspan to Associate Director for Public Engagement—in addition to her current position as Outreach & Recruitment Director for Presidential Personnel—making Raffi the first transgender White House LGBTQ Liaison.

In April 2016, the White House Office of Personnel Management revised the definition of spouse in its Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations to permit Federal employees with same-sex spouses to use FMLA leave in the same manner as Federal employees with opposite-sex spouses.

In April 2016, the U.S. Department of Education published a list of religious educational institutions that have received an exemption from federal civil rights law in order to discriminate against LGBTQ students, increasing transparency for current and prospective students.**

In May 2016, the FDA launched “This Free Life,” a historic public education campaign aimed at preventing and reducing tobacco use among LGBTQ young adults.

In May 2016, the Department of Justice sent a letter to Governor Pat McCrory stating that North Carolina, as a result of compliance with and implementation of House Bill 2, is in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. This letter further solidified that anti-transgender discrimination is prohibited under Title VII's prohibition of sex discrimination.

In May 2016, the Department of Education issued new guidance for school districts to ensure that transgender students will be treated with dignity in public and federally funded schools, including having equal access to sex-segregated facilities, such as restrooms and locker rooms, that are consistent with their gender identity.**

In May 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights implemented a regulation that provides explicit protections from discrimination on the basis of sex stereotyping—including for lesbian, ? , and bisexual people—and gender identity in healthcare and insurance under the provisions of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

In June 2016, the Pentagon lifted their ban on transgender people serving openly in the U.S. military.**

In June 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published proposed regulations revising the Conditions of Participation (CoPs) for Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals to include an explicit provision protecting LGBTQ patients.

In June 2016, the Administration for Community Living (ACL), a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, proposed new program guidance aimed at providing aging services and support to LGBTQ elders in communities across the country.

In June 2016, President Obama designated the park at Stonewall as the first-ever national LGBTQ monument.**

In June 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published a Final Rule setting forth requirements that covered contractors must meet under Executive Order 11246 prohibiting sex discrimination in employment. This Rule specifically prohibits discrimination by federal contractors against workers on the basis of gender identity or sex stereotyping.