Washington, D.C.
October 18, 2023
Thank you all so much.
And Anthony, thank you. This is not the first time, and it will not be the last, that you, through your leadership – not just your work at the Department, but your leadership at Pride at DOL and in our community – really serves to make the entire Department better. So thank you for that.
So good afternoon, everyone.
It is a very special day here at the Department of Labor.
As we all know, when it comes to advancing civil rights, economic justice, and equity, it really takes a community.
So that includes outstanding attorneys like Pam Karlan, who you heard from already, and also the ACLU who helped to represent our honorees. And I just wanted to appreciate the work of everybody who took part in this landmark Supreme Court decision.
But let me say a special thanks to Gerald Bostock. I had the pleasure of meeting with Gerald and family members of the honorees before this event. And, as you’ve heard, Gerald was fired for “conduct unbecoming” a county employee. “Conduct unbecoming.”
So I want to say to you, Gerald – on behalf of the entire Department of Labor and the Biden-Harris Administration – that we honor you with a permanent place in history for conduct becoming a national hero.
And to all the family members of the honorees, we celebrate you too. This kind of journey takes days, months, years of patience, and dedication, and commitment, and creativity. And, as Anthony said, it does not happen because it’s inevitable. It happens because people fight. So thank you for all that you have done.
You have made America more just. You have made America more equitable. And you have made America more free.
This issue is also close to President Biden’s heart.
I have heard him say – as I hope you all have – directly to the LGBTQ+ community, especially to transgender kids, that you belong, that you are seen.
On his very first day in office, the President signed an Executive Order on combatting discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. And that Executive Order specifically citied to Bostock v. Clayton County.
So it is not an exaggeration to say that our honorees have inspired a nation to action.
Here at the Department of Labor we are doing everything we can to make good on the President’s promise of putting equity at the heart of everything that we do.
In our enforcement, we are unleashing our full power to protect workers – especially the most vulnerable workers – to make sure they get a just day’s pay for a hard day’s work, to make sure every worker comes home healthy and safe at the end of the day, and to make sure that every worker has the right to a good job, free from discrimination.
And we are also empowering workers in our work. This Department stands with workers who are organizing or exercising their fundamental right to engage in collective action and to demand fair treatment in the workplace.
And we are living our values.
In June of 2022, I loved getting to raise the Pride flag outside of the Department of Labor – for the first time – for the first time in the Department’s history.
And this past June, I got to do that again alongside many of my Department of Labor colleagues. And I was so glad to do it, in part because we are here, located on Constitution Avenue, in the sight of the capitol, which means that everybody who comes to work or comes to our nation’s capital to visit, could see very clearly where the Department of Labor stands.
And centering equity also extends to the voices that we lift up, the stories that we shine a spotlight on. And that is why we are here today, to draw from the inspiration of our honorees.
So I am so thrilled to add Gerald Bostock, Donald Zarda, and Aimee Stephens into our Hall of Honor. And I want to also note that Aimee Stephens will be the first transgender Hall of Honor person ever in the history of the Department of Labor.
Gerald, Don, and Aimee stood up for a very basic principle, that no one should have to hide their true and full selves at work.
But I want to rewind just a moment to three years before, before the Supreme Court ruled on the Bostock decision.
Back then, more than 25 states allowed a person to be fired on the basis of being gay, bisexual, or transgender It was entirely legal to do so. In Gerald Bostock’s case, he showed up to work one day and his swipe access card had been cut off. Even in places that did have protections, the protections varied from state to state.
And so this Supreme Court’ ruling changed all of that. It gave us a unified, national standard to protect LGBTQ+ people in the workplace.
But, as is always the case, we still have much work to do.
And that’s why, at the Department of Labor, we are not going to stop until we do that work. And we’re going to make sure that we continue to fight to measure our work by how we have protected and advanced the rights of the most vulnerable individuals in our communities.
When Don Zarda was fired, his sister Melissa said quote, “It was a weight he carried.”
And today, far too many LGBTQ+ individuals still have to carry that weight when they go to work every single day. In 2023, 38 percent of LGBT employees say that they’ve experienced harassment at work. For transgender workers, that number goes up to 90 percent.
So, as I said, we have more work to do.
And we’re going to measure our progress by how the workers and communities that have been left out for far too long are faring in our economy and in our nation.
This is how we ensure that no one gets left out or left behind. And when all people can be their full, vibrant selves – at work and outside of work – our country becomes more full and vibrant too.
You know, as you’ve already heard, Gerald, Don, and Aimee did not set out to become the center of a Supreme Court case. They were just great employees, doing work that they loved. They didn’t ask to be recognized. They didn’t ask to be thrust into a years-long Supreme Court battle for justice.
But they chose to speak up. And as you’ve already heard, it takes people speaking up in order to change things and make them better. And in Aimee Stephen’s words, she had to muster all the courage that she had.
So today, as we induct our three new honorees into the Hall of Honor, let’s remember to amplify the voices that are too often unheard. And let’s channel the courage of Gerald, Don, and Aimee so that we can continue to carry on their work to seek justice and to make history.
Thank you all so very much for being here. And I hope that you will join us after the ceremony in the Hall of Honor to see our inductees’ names.