Employer Forced To Accept Transgendered Staff
The times are changing and so are the laws that protect employees. One employer, American Eagle Outfitters, allegedly had a policy in their employee handbook which forced its employees to dress in gender specific clothing and banned cross-dressing. This policy did not sit well with the transgendered community and with the help of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (New York) the employer was forced to change their policy which was deemed to be discriminatory.
Our clients that have an outreach to New York need to review their dress code policy to ensure compliance. California employers have been required to have neutral based dress code policies for years. More specifically, if a person dresses in a manner consistent with the gender that they self-identify with, as long as they are within the dress code policy for that gender, they will be protected. This issue normally arises when an individual is having gender reassignment (which could take up to a year).
Let’s remember that managers and supervisors have to support the work environment and not engage in, or permit behavior that is contrary to any state or federal guideline.
