America’s Patchwork of LGBTQ Workplace Protections

Coming up on today’s show:

• After first making landfall in the Florida Keys early Sunday, Hurricane Irma is still battering the Sunshine State. The storm has been downgraded to a Category 1 force, but millions are still without power, and flooding is still a concern. Tim Padgett, the Americas editor for public radio station WLRN in Miami, and Ben Kirtman, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, bring us the latest on the storm. 

• The U.S. Department of Labor investigated 77 Los Angeles garment factories and found that workers are paid as little as $4.00 an hour sewing clothes for Forever 21, Ross Dress for Less, and TJ Maxx. Legal loopholes allow these companies to operate under sweatshop conditions. David Weil, a former administrator for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, explains. 

• A massive earthquake struck off the southern coast of Mexico last week — it was the strongest quake to hit the area in a century. Almost 100 people have been found dead so far. Paulina Villegas, a reporter for our partners at The New York Times covering Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, explains how the nation is recovering. 

• In July, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Justice Department no longer views workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity to be covered by federal law. What workplace protections currently exists for LGBTQ Americans? Chai Feldblum, a commissioner at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, answers. 

• Even after Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was repealed in 2011, being out in the military was and can still be a challenge. Matt Collette, a producer for the LGBTQ podcast Nancy from WNYC Studios, brings us the inside story of the first gay pride event at The Pentagon. 

• Esperanza Spalding’s new album “Exposure” is available for pre-order now via Concord Records, but she won’t begin composing, arranging, or recording the music it until she steps into the studio tomorrow at 9:00 AM Pacific time. At that point, she will create the album over a 77 hour period, broadcasting every second of the creative process to a global audience live on Facebook. She joins The Takeaway to discuss her new project.

This episode is hosted by Todd Zwillich.