Transgender Issues in the Workplace

Although no federal statute explicitly prohibits employment discrimination based on gender identity, courts have increasingly held that transgender individuals are protected from discrimination under federal law. (Note: The terms “sex,” “gender,” “sexual orientation” and “transgender” are distinguishable. “Sex” is a term used to denote whether an individual is biologically male or female. “Gender” refers to an individual's external characteristics and behaviors such as appearance, dress, mannerisms, speech patterns, and social interactions that are perceived as masculine or feminine, regardless of their biological sex, with “gender identity” being a person's internal, deeply felt sense of being male, female, something other or in-between. “Sexual orientation” describes an individual's enduring physical, romantic and/or emotional attraction to another person. “Transgender” is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.) Indeed, on April 20, 2012, in the landmark ruling Macy v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, EEOC Appeal No. 0120120821 (April 23, 2012), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) held that transgender individuals may state a claim for sex discrimination under Title VII.