Democratic Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Monday, his first day in office, signed an executive order prohibiting discrimination in state employment and state contracting on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) praised Ever's action.

“Discrimination in any form is wrong, and through his actions today – signing his first executive order since taking office – Governor Evers continues to demonstrate that he will fight day in and day out to uphold the Wisconsin values of fairness, justice and equality,” HRC Wisconsin State Director Wendy Strout said in a statement.

“We were proud to turn out LGBTQ voters in November to help elect Evers, and thank Fair Wisconsin for their ongoing work to end anti-LGBTQ discrimination across our state. We look forward to working with the Evers Administration and Fair Wisconsin to pass legislation that will finally safeguard protections for transgender Wisconsinites, who are still denied basic and explicit protections from discrimination in the workplace, housing and public spaces,” she added.

Wisconsin was the first state in the United States to enact legislation prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations. However, the state lacks similar protections based on gender identity or expression.