Transgender Rights and Your Employees
The hottest topic of the year is also
the most confusing for local government employers – transgender rights and how these rights relate to their employees, patrons, residents or service recipients. Illinois is one of about one-third of the
states that has passed legislation prohibiting discrimination based on gender
identity. But few courts have interpreted how to enforce these laws, leaving
employers and local governments to speculate about such topics as:
- What does the law require;
- How to deal with use of restrooms and changing areas;
- How to accommodate individuals whose stated gender is non-conforming to their identification for purposes of services and facility use and program participation;
- How should your employees handle sensitive patron and participant issues relating to transgender rights;
- What policies are appropriate to adopt?
The EEOC, the Department of Justice and
special interest groups are paying close attention to how employers, public
agencies and private businesses are accommodating the rights of transgender
individuals. Demystifying the issues
involved in transgender rights with your staff is the key to avoiding costly
litigation.
It is important that local government employers and their staff understand these cutting edge issues so that they can avoid gender
identity discrimination. Ancel Glink attorneys can provide training sessions to answer questions
about how to apply the law, even in the most sensitive or complicated
situations, so that the rights of all individuals are respected, as well as questions about who has
superior rights and what to do if a patron is uncomfortable in the restroom or
changing area, to how to accommodate the rights of a transgender employee, and
many more. Please contact us if you would like more information about our training sessions.
Post Authored by Margaret Kostopulos, Ancel Glink
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