Tish pushing feds for rights stuff on contractor rules

State Attorney General Letitia James is joining a push to stop the Trump administration from loosening civil rights regulations on federal contractors.

James wants the White House to roll back a ruling that would allow contractors to discriminate based on their own self-proclaimed religious or moral beliefs.

“We will not allow this administration to turn back the clock on civil rights without a vigorous fight,” said James, who is joining top prosecutors in 15 other states and the District of Columbia.

The coalition says the administration should not tinker with longstanding policies that mandate equal employment opportunity in federal government contracting and prohibit federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.

Current practices already allow religious groups and other charities a narrow exemption to discriminate, for example in hiring members of their own faith.

The proposed new Labor Department policy would dramatically widen that exception to allow even corporations to impose their own litmus tests on employees. They could, for example, refuse to hire LGBT people or those who believe in a woman’s right to choose because of company owners’ beliefs. “The proposed rule helps to ensure the civil rights of religious employers are protected,” Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Patrick Pizzella said last month.”