Laura Maechtlen Quoted in SHRM
"Transgender Employees Protected Under Title VII"

Laura Maechtlen Quoted in SHRM

"Transgender Employees Protected Under Title VII"

Seyfarth Shaw Labor and Employment partner Laura Maechtlen is quoted on June 12 in a recent SHRM article regarding the protection of transgendered employees under Title VII.

The article explains that Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on sex but does not expressly prohibit discrimination on the basis of transsexualism or gender identity. In the matter of Title VII, the article references several cases, one in particular is the EEOC’s ruling in Macy v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case states that the ATFE intentionally discriminated against an individual based on gender identity, change of sex and/or transgender status is a form of sex discrimination and, thus, is actionable under Title VII. The individual in this case was notified that a job that she was hired for was no longer available after she had indicated a sex and name change.

Laura suggests, "Private employers should consider revising or reviewing internal equal employment, nondiscrimination, anti-harassment and dress code policies to ensure that they would not violate the EEOC’s interpretation of Title VII. Private employers should also consider providing training to educate employees about any change in policy and consider how they might handle issues arising from an employee’s gender transition in the workplace, including how to handle use of restrooms, locker rooms and other gender-specific facilities, and whether they want to develop guidelines for managing a workplace gender transition by an employee."