Last month the White House removed information from government Web sites about sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace. That's because federal employees can now be fired for being homosexual. On Feb. 23 Washington Post columnist Steven Barr reported that references to sexual orientation discrimination were removed from Federal employment complaint forms posted on agency Web sites. At the time, President Bush's new appointee to head the Office of Special Counsel, Scott Bloch, said the policy was under review.

Last week, Bloch issued his brief on the matter. According to Bloch, federal employees will now "have no recourse if they are fired or demoted simply for being gay."

In 1980, the federal government ruled that discrimination based on sexual orientation is prohibited under the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act, which covers all conduct that does not "adversely affect" work performance. Bloch, however, believes that conduct based on sexual orientation is not the same as sexual orientation itself. In his twisted reading of the 1978 act -- an act intended to protect employees and job applicants from prejudice in the workplace unrelated to their job performance -- Bloch draws a distinction between an individual's conduct as a gay or lesbian, and his or her status as a gay or lesbian. As he told the Federal Times last week, "People confuse conduct and sexual orientation as the same thing, and I don't think they are." So while you can't be fired for bringing your same-sex partner to the office picnic, you can be fired for being gay.