The Department of Labor says federal contractors employ about 26 million people—22 percent of the workforce. Currently, those contractors have to agree not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion or sex.
But the legal protections do not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.
President Obama could issue an executive order that prevents federal contractors from discriminating in their workplaces on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
A poll conducted last year of likely 2012 voters showed that 73 percent of Americans favored workplace protections for LGBT people.
According to a new study from the Williams Institute, that order would extend workplace protections to the 16.5 million employees who work for contractors.