City rule protects sexual orientation

STEVENS POINT - People seeking employment from the city are now protected from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender expression and gender identity.

The city is an equal opportunity employer and had a policy that protected against employment discrimination on a variety of bases including age, race, disability and military service. The City Council reviewed the policy this month and extended protection to the new classes after a request from community member and County Board candidate Robert Steinke to make the change.

Steinke told a city committee he made the request regarding gender identity and expression because his parent came out as transgender five years ago and has experienced discrimination.

"This is something that is very much needed in this community," he said.

Mayor Mike Wiza, who has before publicly supported equal rights for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community, asked that the city also add protection for sexual orientation.

Wiza demonstrated similar support as a County Board member in 2014 when the board voted on whether to extend healthcare benefits to county employees' domestic partners.

"We're all just people," he told the board at its Sept. 23, 2014 meeting. "We're dealing with fairness. This is the right thing to do."

This year, he asked the city to add sexual orientation as a protected class to its hiring policy.

"Regardless of whether it's protected under state or federal law, I think it's important to have that spelled out in our policy," he said.

Although federal law does not explicitly protect against employment discrimination for any of the city's new classes, state law does explicitly protect sexual orientation. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, however, the nation's protection against sex discrimination includes sexual orientation and gender identity.

The proposal earned a unanimous recommendation at the committee level unanimous support by the City Council, both times followed by applause from the public.

Sari Lesk can be reached at 715-345-2257 and sari.lesk@gannettwisconsin.com. Follow her on Twitter as @Sari_Lesk.