Louisiana lawmakers again reject LGBTQ+ worker discrimination protections
Following a call from a state legislator in June, the head of the Louisiana Department of Health allegedly asked staff to scrub the agency's online accounts of all content related to LGBTQ+ Pride month, according to internal emails the Illuminator has obtained. (Ludovic Bertron, Flickr)
For the fourth year in a row, Louisiana legislators have killed a proposal to prohibit employers from discriminating against new hires based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.
House Bill 429 by Rep. Delisha Boyd, D-New Orleans, was shot down Thursday on a 4-6 vote in the House Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations, with all Republicans voting against the measure. Boyd has been the sponsor of the proposal all four years it's been killed in the same committee.
Though conservatives on the committee raised concerns Boyd's legislation would have placed what they see as excessive regulation on private businesses, Louisiana law already prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin and cultural hairstyle.
Boyd was joined in presenting her bill by Kenny Oubre, an LGBTQ+ New Orleanian who works in human resources.
'[The bill] does allow people to bring their entire selves to work, and the data does show, if you're able to bring your entire self to work, you're able to be more productive,' Oubre said.
The Louisiana Retailers Association opposed Boyd's legislation.
Rep. Roger Wilder, R-Denham Springs, who sponsored legislation last year restricting what bathrooms transgender people can use, raised concerns Boyd's bill would create a slippery slope.
'Is the next bill going to be about furries and now that every company has to put a litter box in the corner?' Wilder asked.
'Where's the line?' Wilder said. 'So do we have any specific examples versus just a conjecture?'
Oubre told the committee one of Louisiana's few pediatric cardiologists left Louisiana in 2023 in response to anti-LGBTQ+ legislation state lawmakers had approved as well as the lack of protections for LGBTQ+ people.
'Twenty nine percent of trans people do live in poverty, and that is a direct result of not having job security,' Oubre said. 'So this protection actually allows people to have security, to get a job, to bring their whole selves to work and to be productive.'
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'We have got to build houses and make New Jersey more affordable, housing more affordable." Spiller, 49, lives in Montclair. After just four years as Montclair's mayor, Spiller decided to forgo reelection in favor of pursuing higher office. He secured the backing of one of the state's most powerful labor unions, the New Jersey Education Association. He's also the union's president. While he points to some of the things he did in Montclair as ideas to spread statewide, his time in the township was not without issue. During a deposition in a lawsuit filed by a former employee against Montclair, Spiller invoked his Fifth Amendment right hundreds of times, refusing to answer any questions. Spiller has said he's running to give kids the future they deserve. His priority would also be to address the state's affordability crisis, and he said he wants to 'make this state a place where raising a family or starting a business is within reach for everyone — not just the wealthy.' When it comes to spending, Spiller has said the state often issues 'unfunded mandates' for municipalities. 'We have to look at more equitable ways to raise taxes as a state and use those taxes to support everyday residents," he said. Sweeney, 65, is a West Deptford resident and spent 20 years in the state Senate, 12 of them as president. He lost in a shocking upset in 2021. An ironworker by trade, Sweeney serves as general vice president of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers. Like Fulop, Sweeney was poised for a run in 2017 but ultimately opted not to run and eventually endorsed Gov. Phil Murphy. He has said he decided to run because he understands how Trenton works and knows 'how to get things done.' Sweeney's first priority would be fixing the budget process. He has said he 'would be doing multiyear budgeting and consensus forecasting with the Legislature, which requires the governor to give up some power so that we can get accurate budget forecasts.' He would also focus on housing. NJ Primary Election 2025: Our complete guide to voting, governor candidates, local races Primary issues: How would New Jersey's candidates for governor tackle affordability? Washington looms: What's the top issue in the NJ gubernatorial primary? Donald Trump's agenda Advertising: How much are the 2025 candidates for New Jersey governor spending on television ads so far? Bramnick, 72, lives in Westfield and has served in the Legislature for more than two decades. He got his start in Trenton in 2003 as a member of the Assembly, where he served as Republican leader from 2012 until 2021, when he won the Senate seat he currently holds. The senator is an attorney at Bramnick, Rodriguez, Grabas, Arnold and Mangan in Scotch Plains. He served on the City Council in Plainfield from 1984 to 1991. He was the first Republican to jump into the race. As a Never-Trump Republican, he has said more recently that he would work with the president in situations where it would benefit New Jersey and its residents. He entered the race to break up the 'Democrat monopoly New Jersey government has become' and to address high costs. Bramnick said his first priority is to create a government efficiency panel to 'examine every facet of our state government and find waste, overregulation and areas for improvement' as a way to 'make our state government smaller, more responsive, and provide savings and sustainable tax cuts.' The state senator has said New Jersey has corruption but believes it can be fixed. 'We have corruption in this state, so you need to appoint an attorney general who will make sure that he roots out corruption, same with the United States attorney, but this concept of 'deep state,' those are the kind of terms that you throw out there and what are you talking about?' he said. 'We have corruption and we need to address that, but 'deep state' because someone has been elected to the Legislature for a while, all of a sudden they are in the deep state. That's mythology that I think you hear on cable TV." Ciattarelli, 63, lives in Somerville. The former assemblyman made it clear he planned to run again after losing a closer-than-expected race to Murphy, the incumbent, in 2021. He served in the state Assembly from 2011 to 2018 and in county and local government before that. He lost in the 2017 primary to former Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno. Ciattarelli is running because he wants to provide opportunities for future generations. He has said his priority would be to cap property taxes, reform the school funding formula, audit state spending to find significant cuts, repeal the sanctuary state directive that he said made New Jersey a magnet for undocumented immigrants, and push for term limits on state legislators to bring in fresh ideas and new blood. The former assemblyman has not shied away from embracing the Trump administration, something he did not do when Trump was running in 2015. He spoke personally with the president at Trump's Bedminster golf course and has echoed Trump's sentiments regarding immigration. 'Executive order No. 1, no town in this state will be a sanctuary city and we will not be a sanctuary state,' Ciattarelli said. Spadea, 55, lives in Princeton. His campaign drew some attention in the beginning when 101.5 and Townsquare Media chose to keep him on the air until he became a legally qualified candidate. Attorneys for Bramnick and Ciattarelli alleged that his show gave him an unfair advantage in campaign donations and contributions. He ultimately ended the show before any restrictions were implemented. Spadea said he's running to 'make New Jersey affordable again.' His first priority would be to 'immediately end the illegal immigration crisis.' 'We're going to rescind the 2018 executive order and get rid of the sanctuary state. We're going to rescind the 2019 Immigrant Trust Directive,' he said. 'We're going to issue a series of executive orders … to stop phase four of this high-density housing nonsense that is crushing our suburban communities." Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@ This article originally appeared on NJ governor election 2025: Who are the candidates?
