U.S. Attorney General William Barr said he was ordering sure Justice Department workplaces analyze possible discrimination focused on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender employees after an internal gay affinity organization complained of low morale. In an April four-letter to DOJ Pride launched on Friday, Barr said he was “troubled” by the organization’s issues and directed the FBI and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to “investigate and deal with allegations of discrimination.” Barr also released a formal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) declaration stating that no department worker or applicant has to face discrimination over race, ethnicity, religion, age, disability, or sexual orientation. “Issuing the assertion isn’t always only required using regulation … It’s miles the right thing to do,” Barr wrote.
Barr’s tone and reaction to the department’s gay rights institution marked a stark evaluation from his predecessor, Jeff Sessions, who actively took steps to undermine civil rights protections for homosexual, lesbian, and transgender individuals. In October 2017, as an example, Sessions sent a memo to federal prosecutors asserting that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act did not protect workers from gender identity discrimination.
The department below Sessions’ leadership additionally reversed felony positions taken throughout the Obama administration on homosexual rights, including one case wherein it appeared before a federal appeals court in Manhattan to argue that Title VII does not offer protections to homosexual and lesbian workers. In a March letter to Barr, DOJ Pride stated the branch in recent years had suffered low morale, hurting its capability to retain and recruit new LGBT talent.
The organization said Sessions had declined to difficulty an EEO declaration reiterating the federal government’s stance in opposition to discrimination, regardless of requests to do this. Throughout his time in the department, an older EEO announcement issued via former Attorney General Loretta Lynch became all that remained up at the branch’s website. Based on an October 2018 survey, the institution found, gay, lesbian, and transgender personnel felt the workplace environment was “no longer the welcoming, inclusive environment” it was.
Of all the respondents in the survey, only 31 percent stated they believed the Justice Department valued LGBT employees. Specifically, the survey recognized issues interior each of the FBI and BOP – the two largest components of the Justice Department. It also uncovered repeated grievances inside the FBI Academy, the business enterprise’s law enforcement schooling and research center, over how homosexual people are evaluated and treated.
An FBI representative stated in an announcement that the employer “is devoted to fostering variety and inclusion in our staff,” and it does “no longer tolerate discriminatory behaviors.” The BOP, in an emailed declaration, said it “does not tolerate discrimination,” and any allegations of misconduct are taken seriously. “We are dedicated to making sure a safe workplace that is free of discrimination and harassment,” the declaration said.
