Attorney general orders inquiry over possible discrimination against gay employees

A man sells rainbow flags near The Stonewall Inn, on the eve of the LGBT Pride March, in the Greenwich Village section of New York City, , U.S. June 24, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General William Barr said this week he was ordering certain Justice Department offices to investigate whether gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees are facing discrimination over their sexual orientation, after the department's internal gay pride group complained about low morale.

In an April 4 letter to DOJ Pride released on Friday, Barr said he was "troubled" by the group's concerns, and was directing the FBI and the Bureau of Prisons to "investigate and address allegations of discrimination."

Barr also released a formal Equal Employment Opportunity statement declaring that no department employee or applicant should face discrimination over race, ethnicity, religion, age, disability or sexual orientation.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)