Gov. McAuliffe announced the establishment of a new Equal Opportunity Legislative Agenda Monday. The agenda aims to promote economic growth by making the workplace more comfortable for Virginians, especially women and homosexual, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals.
“In a new Virginia economy, we need to be able to attract the best and brightest entrepreneurs here, build a workforce for the 21st century and ensure that the next generation of Virginians has greater opportunity to succeed,” McAuliffe said in a press release Monday. “All that depends on having a business-friendly environment where every Virginian is treated equally and fairly under the law, no matter their background, gender, or whom they love.”
When first elected into office, McAuliffe banned sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace. The Equal Opportunity Agenda proposes that all wording directly refering to “husband and wife” and “man and woman” simply be changed to “spouse,” ensuring same-sex couples receive the same benefits and government protections as opposite-sex couples.
McAuliffe’s proposal also addressed gender discrimination, with a press release stating “today, women are paid just 79 cents for every dollar a man makes in Virginia.” McAuliffe hopes to address this discrepancy by creating harsher penalties for employers who violate equal pay laws.
The Equal Opportunity Agenda goes on to propose further protections for women “by directing the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to assist in the development of updated sexual misconduct policies at all Virginia public institutions of higher education by July 31, 2015,” according to the press release.
Among the proposals are including expulsions on the transcripts of those found in violation of the university's conduct policy, and requiring businesses with employees who are survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault to allow them to take leaves of absence to receive counseling. This leave also extends to victims’ family members if they are helping the victim recover.
McAuliffe also proposed changes to current abortion laws, including a stipulation to, “repeal the 2012 Virginia law that requires all women to undergo a mandatory ultrasound before seeking pregnancy termination.”
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