Gerald Maatman Quoted in The New York Times
07/31/2005
Gerald Maatman is quoted in the July 31, 2005 issue of The New York Times in a cover article ("An Employee, Hired as a Man, Becomes a Woman. Now What?") in the workplace section on legal protections for transgendered people in the office and the related issues human resources professionals must address. While many employers do not mention transgender people in their antidiscrimination policies, a number of large employers have recently added protections for them and more legal protections are being added, too. Twenty-eight percent of the population is now covered by laws in cities, states or other jurisdictions that prohibit discrimination against transgender people, up from about 5 percent at the end of 2001, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality in Washington. And lawmakers are debating the issue at the national level. This growing national dialogue is focusing attention on a delicate and often confusing human resource issue. "It's created some vexing problems for the employer, of respecting the rights of the employee in question and dealing with the employee morale, fears, tensions of co-workers," said Gerald L. Maatman Jr., a Chicago lawyer who has represented employers in five cases involving transsexual employees. "Transgender" is the broad term covering people who express themselves in the opposite sex, including cross-dressers and transsexuals. Transsexuals live as the opposite sex, and may opt for hormone therapy and surgery. Doctors generally require transsexuals to dress as their desired sex for a year - at home, at work, everywhere - before surgery. Even though many employers may never need to deal with the issue of a transgender employee, specialists suggest preparing for the possibility. Mr. Maatman advises clients to make sure their policies at least match the laws in places where they operate.
