A version of the Fairness Act has been introduced in the Legislature every year since at least 1993 and passed the then Democratic-controlled Senate in 2008 before being blocked in the then-Democratic controlled House of Delegates. Despite lobbying efforts, as recently as 2014, West Virginia was the only state where Democrats controlled both houses of the Legislature and the executive branch to fail to pass a law prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The other 28 states had legislatures either partially or completely controlled by Republicans. Republicans took control of both chambers of the WV Legislature in 2015.
