State employees are now protected against discrimination based on gender identity and expression following an Executive Order signed Dec. 16 by Gov. David Paterson.

The action comes as welcome news to UUP, especially in the wake of the Senate’s defeat of the marriage equality bill that would have legalized same-sex marriage in New York state. The union supports the Gender Expression Nondiscrimination Act (GENDA) as part of its 2010 Legislative Agenda, regarding it as an important social justice issue.

GENDA would extend anti-discrimination protections to the general population based on employment, housing, education, credit and public accommodations. It would also designate crimes committed against individuals because of their gender identity and expression as hate crimes.

GENDA has been approved in the state Assembly, but has not come up for a vote in the Senate. (Donald Feldstein)