Few Signs Gays Are Protected In Civil Service
by Doreen Brandt
365Gay.com Newscenter

(Washington) Two months after the Office of Special Counsel conceded that LGBT government workers are protected under a 1978 law there are few indications that those protections are being enforced.

In February the OSC began removing references to sexual orientation-based discrimination from its complaint form, the OSC basic brochure, training slides and a two-page flier entitled "Your Rights as a Federal Employee." A month later Scott Bloch, Director of the Office of Special Counsel said his reading of federal law indicated gays were not protected and that previous administrations had erred in offering protection from anti-gay discrimination.

Bloch said that gays, lesbians and bisexuals cannot be covered as a protected class because they are not protected under the nation’s civil rights laws.

The issue finally reached the White House March 31 when a group of Democratic lawmakers called on President Bush to overturn Bloch's decision.