On Thursday, February March 7, Clifford Rosky, Associate Professor of Law at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, testified before the Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee of the Utah Senate in support of Senate Bill 262, a bill to prohibit employment and housing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in Utah. Rosky was involved in drafting the bill, and he was asked to appear before the Committee by the bill’s co-sponsors, Senator Steve Urquart (R-St. George) and Jim Dabakis (D-Salt Lake City). The law has been proposed for four consecutive years, but this is the first year in which it was passed out of committee to the Senate floor by a favorable (4-3) vote.At present, Utah does not have any statewide laws to protect people from being fired or evicted because they are gay or transgender. At the hearing, Rosky testified that he was a co-author of the only survey ever conducted in Utah on employment discrimination against LGBT Utahns. In response to the survey, 43% of gay Utahns and 67% of transgender Utahns reported that they had experienced discrimination in employment.
Rosky serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Equality Utah, a non-profit organization devoted to securing equal rights and protections for LGBT Utahns and their families.
The legislative hearing was covered by The Salt Lake Tribune, the Deseret News, and the the Spectrum (St. George).