The Governor-elect of Louisiana, John Bel Edwards, has promised to issue an executive directive protecting LGBT state employees and government contractors from discrimination. He will be sworn into office in January.
Similar executive orders have been issued by past Democratic governors. Edwards, a Democrat, will reinstitute protections that were rescinded under GOP Governor Bobby Jindal, who has said the protections were “unnecessary.”
The executive order will offer protections to state employees working in executive departments and agencies, including at state hospitals and universities. In most of Louisiana, however, people can still be fired by private employers because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.