Sexual orientation has been added to a list of reasons why Maricopa County employees will not face discrimination in the workplace.
The update was unanimously adopted by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Wednesday along with several other reforms to their employee policy manual.
Fields Moseley, a spokesman with the county, said officials had been considering the addition for about two years.
"Many of our, what you might call, competitors or contemporaries in the market, Tempe, Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, even the state of Arizona has already applied that to their non-discrimination policies," he said.
Supervisor Steve Gallardo also proposed an amendment to include gender identity and expression to the list, but that did not pass. According to Mosley, the board’s legal counsel advised them that the word “gender” in human resources policies already covers gender identity.
