The Senate labor committee on Wednesday approved the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw discrimination in workplaces on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a member of the committee, voted for the bill that he cosponsored. The 15-7 vote was the first since 2002 on the proposal originally introduced in Congress in 1994. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said that the full Senate will take up the measure later this year.

Current law prohibits employment discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, age and disability. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would prohibit employers with more than 15 employees from discriminating based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It is modeled on the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and provides for similar enforcement proceedings. The bill would cover government agencies, employment agencies and labor organizations, but exclude religious organizations.

Today, 17 states and the District of Columbia prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Four states prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation only, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Vermont, a national leader in gay rights, has banned discrimination based on sexual orientation since 1992, one of the first states to do so. Vermont added protection for gender identity in 2007.

Sanders first cosponsored the bill in 1994 as a member of the House of Representatives and he was one of 54 senators to cosponsor the version that cleared the Senate committee on Wednesday.