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n her first official act as Arizona’s governor, Democrat Katie Hobbs signed an executive order that seeks to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in employment.
According to Executive Order 2023-01, more than 40 percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals are reporting unfair treatment at work across the country, including not being hired, getting fired, or facing harassment based on their sexual orientation or sexual identity.
Using the powers of her office, Hobbs affirmed the state’s commitment to eliminating “all barriers to employment that artificially restrict hiring, promotion, recruitment, compensation, and tenure based on any status or characteristic that is not directly related to the performance of the job.”
The executive order instructs the Department of Administration to establish procedures to be used by all state agencies by April 1, to ensure that criteria such as sexual orientation and gender identity or expression don’t become factors for employment. Other considerations such as race, color, sex, religion, creed, marital status, age, veteran status, etc. also aren’t to be used as employment criteria.
“Today marks a new era in Arizona where my administration will work to build an Arizona for everyone,” Hobbs said in a Jan. 3 statement. “I am proud to launch my First 100 Days Initiative which will center around tackling the biggest challenges facing Arizonans, like making our state more affordable and sustainable.
