The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued new rules to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity by any federal contractor, including financial institutions (by virtue of their federal deposit insurance). The rules implement a recent Executive Order adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the prohibited bases of discrimination (in addition to race, color, religion, sex and national origin). The rules went into effect on April 8, 2015.

Under the DOL’s new rules, financial institutions should:

• Ensure that job applicants and employees are not discriminated against based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, in addition to the other prohibited bases.
• Update the “Equal Employment Opportunity” disclosure in all job solicitations and employee notices to notify applicants and employees that they will not be discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, in addition to the other prohibited bases.
• Post in a conspicuous location noticeable to all employees and applicants an updated EEO poster from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website, once it is made available.
• Update employee handbooks and job descriptions to include sexual orientation and gender identity as prohibited bases of discrimination.

Note that the new rules do not require financial institutions to set hiring goals for employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Also, the rules do not require financial institutions to collect and maintain statistics on applicants and employees, or to report any new information to the federal government.

Keep an eye out for future FAQs and webinars on the new rules from the OFCCP.