California Passes Gay Labor Law
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff


(Sacramento, California)  The California Senate Monday passed the Omnibus Labor and Employment Non-Discrimination Act. The law standardizes over 30 labor and employment non-discrimination provisions to make them consistent with the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The bill now moves to the Governor's desk.

 “This legislation ensures that California workers and employers have one standard—the Fair Employment and Housing Act—by which to judge discrimination and that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender are included in that standard,” said Geoffrey Kors, Executive Director of Equality California.


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Group forms to oust judge for signing divorce


DES MOINES (AP) -- A group of northwest Iowans has formed a political action committee to try to unseat a state judge who granted a divorce to a lesbian couple joined in a Vermont civil union.

The Judicial Accountability Group, which filed organizational papers last week, will raise money for an effort to oust District Judge Jeffrey Neary from the bench this fall.

Neary, 46, of Merrill, was appointed by Gov. Tom Vilsack in October 2002 to complete the term of Richard J. Vipond of Denison on his retirement. Neary faces his first retention vote for a six-year term. The six-county area he serves, which includes Plymouth and Woodbury Counties, is mostly rural and heavily Republican.

Only four Iowa judges have been knocked off the bench since the retention system was adopted more than 40 years ago to let voters decide if a judge should stay on the job. A majority vote is all that's needed for retention.