Be careful what you wish for! You might get it!

[Bernice]

After becoming employed temporarily as a contractor at headquarters for a large national company, I discovered that their sexual harassment policy differed in one significant respect from all others under which I have ever worked.

Here is a brief excerpt:

For purposes of this policy, the term “harassment” includes any degrading or offensive conduct, either verbal or physical, that is based on a person’s sex, color, race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, veteran status, citizenship status, age or disability. Harassing behaviors interfere with an individual’s employment or work performance, or create an intimidating and hostile work environment.

Seeing “gender identity”, I nearly fell off my chair. Does this mean I can work at work en-femme?

I don’t think so, and here is the excerpt where I think I found catch-22:

The important thing to remember is that it doesn’t matter what someone’s intention is. What matters is the impact that the person’s conduct has on others.

Ah Ha! So, if I go into work dressed as a woman, some genetic woman will surely feel offended by my conduct! She will say something along the lines of how my attire dehumanizes women or some such. Therein I become the villain, and out the door I will go.

Then it also occurred to me that the protections afforded employees probably do not apply to contractors.

Still, I couldn’t help but feel that this policy is a major step in the right direction. Attempts to effect a utopian environment by regulation rarely succeed, though I respect the effort made in this direction. Perhaps it was this last statement that made me wonder if I was being too distrustful of progress. It says:

<<the company’s>> goal is to maintain a healthy work environment where all employees, regardless of sex, color, race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, veteran status, citizenship status, age or disability, feel at ease.

So. Ladies, both GG and otherwise, please tell me what you think!

[NewbieCD]

I think you are right to be leary there is always a catch 22 and if you go to work all decked out and your boss gets offended or gets enough complaints there is always the laying you off cut back excuse the waiting till the first time you are late and letting you go for tardyness that is nice to have in writing but the point is could you prove that that was the reason you got fired or were asked to leave so you rights are protected under that rule!!!!

[kristine239]

... in this case means that they can not discrimate if you are a true TS and will be transitioning on the job. It does not include cross dressing at work ( being dressed as a female one day and male the next).

I have, over the years, worked with HRC and IFGE to help employers develop these guidelines and this is the intention.

Hope this helps to explain your question. If not, e-mail me and I will try to do better.

Kristine

[Helen MC]

The only good Boss is an ex one. I have often read Terms and Conditions of Employment which look like the UN Declaration of Human Rights but in close examination have as you say Catch 22 caveats, either deliberate or accidental.

One which could contradict the apparently glowing freedoms of the anti-Harrasment Policy is their "Dress Code". They could stipulate that designated Protective Clothing or Uniform be worn and dressing "en-femme" could be in breach thereof.

As to "Contractors", here in the UK although they cannot be deprived of any Statutory Legal Rights, they do not enjoy all the Employment Protection of a permanent employee. It is for this reason that they are usually paid at a higher rate than such full employees to compensate for no paid holidays, no sick pay and that they can have their services terminated at the drop of a hat with no notice period. Accordingly , as a Contractor you may find that whilst you are protected from Harrasment as such, they could simply dispense with you if your dresssing at work en-femme did not suit them or their permanent workforce.

[Bernice]

Wow! It sure didn't take long to burst my bubble.

So, what would a corporate policy have to say to permit crossdressing at work? Wouldn't it be worthwhile to want crossdressing to be afforded the same anti-harrasment protections?

[CharlaineCadence]

If you are a transsexual and go to your human resorses for assistence they cant fire you. but if you mearly wish to crossdress then your in for a world of disipontment.

[Billijo49504]

The easiest way for you to be able to dress at work, is if you owned the company. Remember, most places have a 90 day probation period. Or as said, they can always find a excuse to get rid of you...BJ

[Priss]

Like Kristine said, these policy statements are designed to protect someone whom is TS, or atleast presents a different from birth certificate gender in their job.

So I have to ask, what is your intention? If you're intent on presenting as female all of the time while you're at that company, you're covered. However if you're going to flip flop from day to day, that's when people become disturbed, confused, and uncomfortable. It may not be right, but our society just has not reached that point yet.

[typical_guy]

I can't imagine going into work dressed up and I work for the government. I'm sure that I wouldn't be fired from my government job but I wouldn't want to make the work environment uncomfortable for others or to make myself some sort of "outcast" or blackball myself (although I know this would not be something politically correct - it still can happen).

So yeah, I just can't see it. I love my job and I'm going to hold onto my good government job until I'm ready to retire...or die...whichever comes first...and if I die first I'm going to attempt to hold onto it with my cold dead hands!

[Teresa Amina]

Also good to remember that, even if there were a catch-free CD/TG policy, an employer can always set you up for a violation of something obscure you're not aware of if they want to get rid of you. Here in Michigan unless you're in a 'good' union it's considered 'at will' employment. They can fire your butt for a bad haircut if they want.

[Sarah Rabbit]

I may be out of step here, but are we reading too much into it..The company I have worked for for 17yrs are pretty much up to date with all the business trends and I have never any mention about Transgenderism in any form, negative or positive.. Are we looking too Deep?

Sarah R.

[Jesse69]

When I worked for Synchro Start in 2000 they hired me permanent. Then they spied on me after work and found out I bought womens clothes. They called me gay at work and they made fun of me at the company Xmas party. Eventually they fired me for a made up reason.

There were no anti gay discrimination laws in IL back then. I went to the EEOC and they did nothing. I tried finding a lawyer to sue the company but tough luck.

The worse was that I felt like I was still being spied upon, then one day I punched a guy at McDonalds and he turned out to be a senior citizen. Short story - they gave me a felony and probation for 30 months. Now I have a tough time finding a job because of my felony, and the state laws don't expunge or seal violent felonies. So my only hope is clemency from the Governor to get rid of my record. I was rejected from one company twice for a job because of my felony.

Don't take any chances crossdressing at work. Just be happy to do it at home or after work or on Halloween. Money is more important then being femme.

[EricaCD]

In the United States, you should be skeptical about the shield offered by any employer policy that purports to protect against discrimination on the basis of "gender identity". That language is deliberately vague, and for a reason: different people have differing ideas as to what this means. At a minimum I would assume that protection based on gender identity is limited to transexuals. California might interpret this a bit more broadly, but I would not assume that crossdressing is protected under any state's laws absent definitive counsel to that effect from a competent specialist in employment law.

Remember also that US law makes it easy to fire an employee "for any reason or no reason", so long as the reason for termination is not expressly proscribed (race, gender, etc.). As anyone knows who has ever had to deal with a wrongful termination lawsuit, it is usually very difficult--absent smoking-gun type evidence--to prove such a claim. The EEOC typically only goes after egregious or serial offenders, and transgendered claims are not at the top of their list of priorities.

Upshot: tread carefully, and talk to a lawyer before pushing the envelope.

The foregoing should not be construed or relied upon as legal advice, but rather as a very general overview as to the rules of the road in the USA. Our friends in Canada, Continental Europe and (to a lesser degree) the UK are governed by fundamentally different employment laws. I cannot even hazard a guess as to how the laws of those jurisdictions would deal with a crossdressing or transgendered employee.

Erica

[Helen MC]

Erica, although we in the UK do have some measure of Employment Protection it is not nearly as good as that in France or Germany, but a great deal better than the Hire and Fire at whim USA. I don't know if any specific cases of an Employee being sacked for Cross-Dressing have occurred but we have a year's interval before our protection cuts in . Even after that the Law is stacked in the Employer's favour as they can fall back on such vague concepts as "Reasonable Request" . In this case say a biological male , not someone undergoing or due to undergo GRS, dresses "en-femme" at work. The Employer asks them to dress in male clothing when atwork or at customer premises. It would be difficult to contest that this was not a "Reasonable Request". Although we have Laws to protect Homosexuals and Lesbians against harrassment based on their sexuality this does not necessarily help in Employment matters. Indeed there was recently a case of a Lesbian who was also a F to M crosdresser and wished to live her life in a male role as regards dressing etc. She lost her case at an Employment Tribunal when she claimed Unfair Dismissal on grounds of her sexuality. The sad point was that the Employer was Brighton Borough Council and that town is generally regarded as the Capital of the English Homosexual and Lesbian movement and to have a liberal attitude to all forms of sexuality.

[NewbieCD]

I work around children there could be no way i could ever go around them dressed up no matter how convincing i am cause i will some this year that i saw last year and it would be a very uncomfortable enviroment that many parents in this small town would hate.

[trannie T]

As an employee you are covered by local, state and federal laws and regulations as well as company policy.
As a contractor you are covered by. . . .

[tekla west]

Sure makes a good argument for

a) Matching your work to your lifestyle, which is why IT and Theatre are good
b) Being in a strong union, which is important no matter what you do unless you are the owner
c) knowing the law, having a good lawyer and using both

I sure would not work for any company that spied on my off-work time, that seems a bit much.

[MarciGrrl]

If we lived by the Golden Rule, we wouldn't need any other rules. Think about it.

[~Kitty GG~]

When I worked for Synchro Start in 2000 they hired me permanent. Then they spied on me after work and found out I bought womens clothes. They called me gay at work and they made fun of me at the company Xmas party. Eventually they fired me for a made up reason.


The worse was that I felt like I was still being spied upon, then one day I punched a guy at McDonalds and he turned out to be a senior citizen. Short story - they gave me a felony and probation for 30 months.

How did they spy on you? And why did they spy on you? Who is "they"?

Why does it matter that you punched a senior citizen? Isn't it wrong to punch someone regardless of their age?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As to the rights you are afforded against harassment.. I don't think that the Gender Identity clause could be used to be able to cross dress at work. I think that this clause has been added to anti-discrimination legislation to allow transitioning TSs to not lose their jobs while they attain the gender identity they believe they should have had all along. The average person is probably not going to feel that CDing qualifies.

But if you can prove that your gender identity requires you to dress en femme..

The bit about it offending is not to safeguard the GGs at work from be offended by your attire.. its more saying that the harasser doesn't have to intend to harass.. And example would be groping a woman's bust is definitely harassment.. BUT just making comments about her bust size is also harassment.. in the second example the person making the comment probably didn't intend to harass... Basically its saying that we have to watch our tongues and our actions and consider "will the offend someone else" BEFORE we say or do it.

Human resources should be able to help you.

Love & Hugs
~Kitty~

[Ms. Donna]

The firm at which I work has incorporated gender identity and expression as a part of its Equal Employment Opportunity policy in 2003:

The Firm does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, veteran status, disability, age, citizenship, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or because of any other criteria prohibited under applicable law. As part of our commitment to affirmative action, the Firm takes affirmative steps to ensure that applicants for employment and employees are treated without regard to their race, color, religion, gender, national origin, veteran status or disability.

GenderPAC (the Gender Public Advocacy Coalition) defines “Gender Identity or Expression" as:

The expression through clothing and behavior, or the inner sense of identification and self-awareness, that manifests a person's fundamental sense of themselves as masculine or feminine, and male or female.

I am 'out' at work - with the blessing of HR.

I called our group’s HR contact and left a somewhat vague voice-mail message to the effect that I needed to discuss a ‘personal issue’ and wanted to schedule some time with her. After exchanging a couple of emails, I had an appointment with her.

My meeting with her went well: I explained to her about my being Transgender and it issue it caused me and how my ‘dressing’ as I did helped me to cope with all of this. She did allow that my outfit was more on the feminine side so she got to see what I was talking about I finally got to the point and told her that I wanted to be allowed to follow the woman’s dress code – no skirts or dresses – but not a suit and tie either. We discussed things a bit more and she said that she would have to get back to me. She asked me to check back next week and I left our meeting not feeling too hopeful.

I emailed her that next week and she replied that there had been no decision yet. Later that week, she emailed that she wanted to meet to discuss the issue some more. I asked if it was good news or bad and said that either way I would see her the next day. She replied back to me: definitely good news. I was completely preoccupied after that, wondering what she would tell me. She said it was good news, but what did that really mean? I guess I was going to have to wait until out meeting.

We met the next day and she had a few questions for me – what bathroom was I looking to use, how I would handle people approaching me (if they did) about my dress – they seemed like the kind of questions HR would ask. I answered them and after a few minutes, she told me that HR was supporting
my request.

I went in and asked not to ‘transition’, not to be treated ‘as a woman’, but to be allowed to more or less dress as a woman and they said yes. That was in 2002: before adopting Gender Identity or Expression into their EEO policy.

Short answer: yes, you can do this - but you need to work from within the system. You can not just show up in a dress and expect there to be no issues.

Love & Stuff,
Donna

[Angie G]

If I had the right to dress at work its just not worth the hassle I'd get.
No I'm happy to dress at home for now!
Angie G.

[Bernice]

After the third post, I knew my answer. The key is whether or not the anti-harassment policy mentions gender expression, not just gender identity. Much as I would like to wear a dress at work sometimes, it's not worth transitioning just to do so. Besides, as a mere contractor, transitioning is economically out of reach, but I digress.

Indeed, I thought about asking HR if I could bully any crossdressers I found out about at work without fear of retribution (a little negative psychology). I also thought about asking which restroom the crossdressers should be using, in case I saw one in there. If I could have asked anonymously, I probably would have.

On my application I checked "prefer not to answer" on the sex question, but that probably won't help me any.

But for now, it seems our 5-10% minority is still too under the RADAR for any protection, while the .05% who transition get protection. I don't begrudge the protection afforded TS - I'm just envious.

[Jesse69]

How did they spy on you? And why did they spy on you? Who is "they"?

Why does it matter that you punched a senior citizen? Isn't it wrong to punch someone regardless of their age?
:

They spied on me because how else would they know I crossdress? Maybe I'm infamous for crossdressing? But the only thing I did was buy womens clothes - I never went out in drag.

I have a feeling that all companies I have worked for have spied on me to see what I do after work. And to check me out to see if I'm a good person.

In ILLinois, if you punch a senior citizen you will get 5 years in prison and a felony. I felt I had to puch out the people who were following and spying on me.

[Marlena Dahlstrom]

Obviously crossdressing is a different matter than transitioning, but in either case being a great employee can make a difference in how your employer reacts. Obviously, if someone is bigoted, it won't make a different how good an employee you are, but while people may find it strange, many of them ultimately won't care if you're otherwise a valued asset to the company. Case in point:

A TS friend of my recently transitioned on the job in the legal department of a goverment agency (not exactly a bastion of free spirits). When she first came out to her boss, her boss' reply were words to the effect that he valued her for her brains, and that the body that those brains were housed in were none of his concern. When the day came to tell her co-workers, management made clear how highly they valued her and that they expected everyone to treat her with respect -- or else.

I don't claim to the superstar that A. is, but as I mentioned, I recently came out to a client myself. One reason I felt OK about doing it is knowing that they've been quite happy with my work for them (they've brought me back for a number of projects).

[Joy Carter]

I think we won't make any gaines with out sacrifice it's just to hot of an issue and a co. rather than putting up with you will show you the door. Speaking from expierence here. PS your butt will be roasted by all belive me by friend and foe alike !