Goshen Mayor Allan Kauffman will issue an executive order adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected classes to the city of Goshen’s hiring policy. The order will apply only to city workers and not employees hired by private businesses. When someone makes a discrimination claim, mutual voluntary mediation will be required. The mayor says he knows some will criticize his executive order, arguing it is not necessary to commit the (Community Relations Commission) to investigate allegations of discrimination, because there haven’t been any. To that, he says, there haven’t been any cases because until the recent Equal Opportunity Employment Commission ruling, there were no grounds for such protection in the State of Indiana. Kauffman is not seeking re-election in 2016.
