Workplace Laws regarding restroom usage in California

[Olivia-Anne]

Can anyone point me in the direction of the actual laws regarding the bathroom? I went full time at work this past Monday. They asked me to use the unisex bathroom until an un-named amount of time went by then I could use the ladies restroom like normal. After the first day I felt comfortable enough to use it. All the women at work are really cool and are now friends with whom i go to lunch with and have girl talk and stuff with now. Well today i got called into the HR office and for all intents and purposes was reprimanded for using the restroom. The head of HR saw me use it and called me in. I talked about how it felt discriminatory to have to use the only unisex bathroom while being unable to use any other. Not to mention I am not the only one that uses that bathroom. So i have to share the one bathroom with the overflow from both the ladies and mens room. Basically the meeting ended with me having my tail between my legs and reduced to waiting for the head of HR's "opinion" on when she is comfortable enough with the atmosphere, to  allow me to use the restroom. I would like to know the specific laws if it has to come to legal rights. Thank you in advance.

<3 Liv

[Jill F]

Hi, Jill's wife here.  There is no specific law governing bathroom usage in the workplace in California.  That said, gender identity and expression are expressly protected characteristics under the Fair Employment and Housing Act ("FEHA"), Cal. Gov't Code § 12940, which prohibits discrimination in employment based on various protected characteristics and for this purpose applies to any employer with five or more employees.  So while there is no case law on point in this state that I am aware of, refusing to allow you to use the appropriate bathroom for your expressed gender likely constitutes unlawful discrimination under the FEHA.  Your company may also have an Equal Employment Opportunity policy which, if at all up to date, should also list gender identity and expression as protected characteristics.  So such a bathroom policy could run afoul of their own EEO policy too.  You might ask how the company's position is consistent with FEHA and, if applicable, the company's EEO policy.  Any issues, write back and we can find you a referral for employee-side labor counsel.  Good luck!

[suzifrommd]

Have you thought about contacting some of the LGBT legal organizations? Lambda legal has been very interested in workplace issues and has been known to give legal advice and advocate for people.

This is an extremely common issue. Most of the people who've posted here about transitioning in the workplace have run across some form of this.

[kathyk]

Even at Caltrans the mtf who came out had to use one specific restroom in a building even though there were 10 womens restrooms.  I had no idea there was a transitioning woman among the 500 employees in the building, and I really didn't care.  It was one of those "So what" things. 

Anyway, now that I've dealt with restroom issues for nine months I know how much it sucks.  Just glad I have my new drivers license, and the birth certificate is on the way.

K

[Olivia-Anne]

Thanks for the info. We are an eoe company. As far as my actual job goes everything is fine. It's just the bathroom that is apparently an issue. But i guess thankfully they only want me to use the unisex bathroom for a "short" while, until everyone is comfortable. Although i still think it is discriminatory. I dunno. I think I am just going to keep my job and play the game and hope i doesn't take too long to get to use the ladies room. Just so ridiculous. I think they are waiting for my Name change and gender change to be finalized before they will say I can. At the moment they are basically humoring me with no actual documents. Aside from the bathroom they have been super super good. My co-workers are awesome. I think I should just play the game for a couple months. Hopefully it goes by quickly.

<3 Liv