It has been a little over one year since Caitlyn Jenner, formerly Bruce Jenner, announced a change to her name and appearance on the cover of Vanity Fair.
With only around 0.3% – 3.0% of the U.S. adult population identified as transgender, employers may mistakenly believe that it’s not an issue worth their time. However, since the transgender population and legal compliance issues are growing, proactive employers are preparing for a transgender workforce.
Legislative Guidance:
- Transgender employee discrimination is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and under several state laws.
- OSHA and the Department of Labor released a “Guide to Restroom Access for Transgender Workers” that requires companies to allow their employees to use the restroom that corresponds to their gender identity.
Recommendations:
- Modify your employee handbook, policies and training to include transgender in the list of protected classes
- Engage transgender employees in an “interactive process” to discuss their preference on the use of bathrooms, name, email address, pronouns and company announcement, if any
To listen to Employco’s recent podcast on transgender equality in the workplace, please click here. Contact us for help with your employee handbook, policies or employee training.