A friend of mine that works at the FDA got this email at work re: access to bathrooms by Transgender [View all]

[ehrnst]

"The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), released a fact sheet yesterday addressing the rights of transgender employee. In a nut shell: Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, federal employees must be permitted to use restrooms that align with their gender identity.

"The question that sometimes arises in cases regarding bathroom access is how to respond to other employees who may feel uncomfortable sharing a common restroom facility with a transgender or gender non-conforming colleague.

"These questions, at first blush, may seem legitimate and thorny but after consideration it’s revealed that there’s not much meat there: throughout our history the relative comfort of one group has been argued as a justification for disparate treatment of another and those arguments consistently fail because we do not condition one employee’s right to a workplace free of discrimination on whether a colleague is made uncomfortable.

"Transgender federal employees, no matter where their office is located, are entitled to use bathrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, etc. that are consistent with their identity – just like their cisgender colleagues.

"Contrary state laws do not at all impact that basic commitment to equality and federal agencies will investigate all allegations of harassment and discrimination."


https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/fs-bathroom-access-transgender.cfm