Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog
According to a recent news article from the San Francisco Gate, new regulations are now in effect that provide specific protections to transgender and gender-nonconforming employees in California. This comes at a time when transgender workers are receiving more support from some and facing more hostility from others than ever before.
One issue that employers are worried about is that even if they want to do the right thing and follow the law, they are not sure exactly what they are required to do. They also say they do not have the resources to fully follow the law and learn what to do. While these claims seem somewhat hard to take seriously, there is clearly a need for more training.For this reason, one state senator stopped work on his own education bill and proposed a bill that would require mandatory on-the-job training for issues pertaining to transgender rights and gender identity. This would be similar to how sexual harassment training is already required.
For those who are not aware, the term gender identify involves how a person identifies themselves in terms of gender. This includes male, female, as well as gender fluid, gender queer, or nonbinary. As our Los Angeles employment attorneys can explain, California has protected gender identity in nondiscrimination laws for several years. The problem was, while these new laws are in effect, many claim they were not sure what to do to protect these individuals at work, since they are not familiar with these relatively new terms and what they mean. This new proposed bill will include training to answer these questions and make it easier to do the right thing. It will also take away any excuse for not doing the right thing by claiming some type of ignorance.
One of the reasons this has become such a pressing issue is because it has become obvious as result of various studies how much gender identity discrimination can affect someone in the workplace. We are going far beyond purely being harassed. However, with respect to that, one national survey showed that in 2016, 75 percent of transgender workers in California reported to having been harassed at work.
The reason we say it goes beyond harassment is that many of the transgender individuals in our state cannot find a job. Many are not hired because of their gender identify. If they are hired, they are often denied advancement or fired because they are transgender.
If this is happening in a state that is as progressive as California, it is hard to imagine how tough it must be for these individuals in more politically conservative states such as the ones that are currently trying to pass bathroom laws.
If you are a worker in the Southern California area and you have been discriminated against at work (including not being hired) you should speak with an experienced employment attorney as soon as possible. There is no reason you should have to suffer due the fact that others may not be willing to afford you the rights provided by law.
Contact the employment attorneys at Nassiri Law Group, practicing in Orange County, Riverside and Los Angeles. Call 949.375.4734.
Additional Resources:
Bill would require transgender-rights training for CA employers, June 30, 2017, By Marissa Lang, SF Gate
More Blog Entries:
Uber Investigating Sexual Harassment Claims by Engineer, March 25, 2017, Orange County Sexual Harassment Lawyer Blog