DO you have to tell employers that you are trans? right times to come out

[socrates101]

Hello, so i'v been thinking
background info:
I don't like to consider myself 'stealth' because i don't like that word, its almost instigates that someone who lives stealth, is a secretive liar that lives 'underground' and pretends to be someone else. something i don't agree with. I guess some people may consider me as such because i'm forunutely at a stage where passing is not an issue and only select family members and my partner know i was born in the wrong sex. I don't tell people, nor do i plan to. I don't consider myself to hide things(hence my hate of the word stealth) because i don't actively hide who i am, i just don't share that part of me. the time before i transitioned was hard, times i want to forget and would erase if i could, its personal and i dont see the need in sharing it at all, for me its like a guy just walking up to me to tell me he was born with 2 penises. Pretty irrelevant piece of information to my life. I consider myself just the regular guy i am, born with a birth defect which has been fixed. I do support the LGBT community and take part in pride events when i can, but most people there just assume i'm there as a gay guy or supportive straight male, which i let them think. I wouldn't directly lie to them if someone figured out i was trans though, for me its just not something i want to ever share, and i dont see any reason to 'come out'. if i make friends i dont see any reason for me to suddenly say "oh hey yeah btw i was born female bodied." it wont make a difference to my life or theirs, and tbh it seems like an attention seeking whore thing to do, because it's like you want them to know a part of you that shouldn't make a difference to your relationship, so what was the point of telling them in the first place? Its different if you're in a situation where you do 'need' to come out for any important reason, but other than that i dont believe in the whole "right time to come out as trans bull->-bleeped-<-" (btw this doesn't count if you are around the same people you where before you transitioned, what i'm saying refers to meeting new people, being around people or moving to a new place..so living in 'stealth')

any enough of that, to the main question. DO you have to tell employers that you're trans?
I'v seen documentaries and read stories of trans people finding it hard to get jobs because of the fact that their trans, and it makes me wonder the circumstances that would require you to inform possible employers of your trans status?
say you have successfully changed your passport gender(which would make you legally your true gender) do you still have to tell people you are trans when applying for jobs?
I'm asking because i plan to move in the future and my passport will completely be changed by next  year(i'm not changing my birth certificate soon because it takes too long and its not as relevant as passport, also i'm pretty sure there are very few situations where a birth ceritifate has to be provided)
anyway, with my passport changed, comfortably living in my true gender, having had completed univerisity and sixth form college in my true gender and new name(which means not ever having to explain why my school and university documents are in a different name, because they're not)
is it possible to apply for work as your real gender? without having to state anywhere that you are transsexual? I am not sure if there is some sort of requirement or not.

[suzifrommd]

Legally, I don't know of any law that requires Transgender employees to tell their employer any aspect of their condition that doesn't affect their job performance.

Ethically, IMO, it's none of their business (or anyone's except yours and those people you chose to tell).

Practically, I don't see an issue unless you see a chance of being outed, and think your employer would react negatively. In that case you need to weight that possibility against the negative consequences of disclosing your origins unnecessarily.

[JoanneB]

My wife has been doing stealth for about 40 years with no problems. Only her SS marker was changed very early on, not even an official (legal) name change. No issues at all with health insurance companies which are about the only ones looking up your butt. All the employeer cares is that the SS number is legit.

Of course, if you plan to work for certain industries requireing a security clearance, it is best not to lie on the official clearance paperwork. You cannot be denied a clearance for being trans but can be bounced for lying on the paperwork.

[JenJen2011]

No, you don't. Will they be able to tell or find out? Maybe. But you don't have to mention it. It's irrelevant. I've been working for my employer for 2 years and I've never discussed it with them.

[JennX]

AFAIK there is no law requiring you to do this. Now if you have legally changed your name with the social security admin while currently employed, then you'll need to inform your employer of the name change for tax reasons. But otherwise, as far as SRS etc goes, it's none of their business.

But you might get some questions/ looks if/when you start presenting as a member of the opposite gender.

[JennX]

I wouldn't want to work in a place where being trans would cause issues with them. My employer knows, but primarily because they knew me before I transitioned and even if they didn't, I had to go through a background check.

Yep. Background and/or credit check will bring uyour old name and info... Unless you change your SS #.

[tgchar21]

Yep. Background and/or credit check will bring uyour old name and info... Unless you change your SS #.

Or transition before coming of age, or before immigrating to the U.S. (when you wouldn't have any credit or other records to show up on the trace; the trace is NOT an official SSA record but rather a compilation of records from where you've worked, obtained credit, and other similar functions). In the case of a child/teenage transitioner without any records relevant to employment in their original name, they can play basically the same card as someone who was adopted or had some other youth name change (i.e. say that nothing relevant to the check is under another name if asked, except for certain high-security jobs where they trace you back to birth).

[socrates101]

Yes, in terms of transitioning BEFORE coming of age. i.e i started my transition at 16, changed my name legally and started T a month after my 16th birthday and began sixth form college(a level here in the UK) as my new legally changed name/gender

[tgchar21]

To the OP: What I (and probably what most others have said) is focused on the U.S. Since you now said you're from the UK, the rules are probably different (it helps when discussing issues that are of a legal nature to mention where you're from as the laws vary). I think the UK has some additional rules in effect that make it easier to be stealth to an employer (e.g. there is a standard procedure for checking criminal records*, and a special path is in place for transgender people so they don't have to out themselves to a prospective employer even if they've committed a crime under their original name). Since you are 16, that will probably help a lot too. Be glad that dedicated procedure for TSs is in place, since in that country they can check criminal records back as far as age 10, and before the special rule for TSs was enacted if the job required a criminal history check you'd have to give out any names at least as far back as that and in some cases back to birth (now a TS can report the names directly to the checking agency instead). For more on this search "CRB" restricted to sites ending in .gov.uk. In terms of checking non-criminal records like work or educational history I think the two countries are similar. In most cases (security clearances being one exception) American employers can't investigate juvenile records once you're past a certain age, and the procedure of checking records is less formalized there, so you have more leeway by default there if you transition before having any "adult" records including work history (but few if any special procedures for TSs, so you usually have to play by the same rules as if your name was changed for other reasons at the same age).

*In the U.S. there is no public national database, so you have a hodgepodge of county/state records as well as those compiled by numerous private companies who offer background checking services (many of which are of questionable reliability, as there are frequently cases of false records because of information mix-ups).

[sarreb]

I havent told my employer yet, as its a very small unit. But I am planning too, it'll be obvious at somepoint, and when we all try to be friendly to one another, its really awkward to always be holding my real life back from them.