So my job found out about me.

[Mariah]

It can be a bit different here in the United States if you forget to put that name change down on the app. They can drag you in front of the courts and or fire you. Hugs.
Mariah

That sucks I know in my State in Australia if they tried it they would be dead in the water and dragged before the courts. I just do not understand this kind of cruelty on the part of a select few companies.

[Zumbagirl]

They could have found out about you from your health insurance if you have used your health insurance to pay for therapy or hormones or made inquiries it's possible they found that way. Since your employer pays the majority cost of health care, they sometimes want accounts set up so they can see claims paid, sometimes they don't. Maybe your employer is one that wants to examine claims?

[JoanneB]

They could have found out about you from your health insurance if you have used your health insurance to pay for therapy or hormones or made inquiries it's possible they found that way. Since your employer pays the majority cost of health care, they sometimes want accounts set up so they can see claims paid, sometimes they don't. Maybe your employer is one that wants to examine claims?

In the US it would be a total violation of Federal Law for the insurance company to pass on medical info to anyone under HIPA. Health insurance yes, only in that in the past your name and SS number was linked to a "Male". A member of my support group with a new employer had this happen. HR had no clue. One day someone noticed that "Mary" had "Male" in the report from the carrier. As did her ID card. THey contacted her, said they noticed the mistake. At that time her gender maker for her D/L was not changed so even that still said male.

[Zumbagirl]

In the US it would be a total violation of Federal Law for the insurance company to pass on medical info to anyone under HIPA. Health insurance yes, only in that in the past your name and SS number was linked to a "Male". A member of my support group with a new employer had this happen. HR had no clue. One day someone noticed that "Mary" had "Male" in the report from the carrier. As did her ID card. THey contacted her, said they noticed the mistake. At that time her gender maker for her D/L was not changed so even that still said male.

HIPPA does not apply to the person paying the bill. Some companies do want claim information and some companies do not. You would be surprised at the amount of information an employer can get about your health information just by asking.

[KimSails]

That really sucks that they emailed you like that, Kariann.  As someone said, at the very least they could have provided some detail about what they wanted to talk about.

I agree that the email sounds ominous, but it may very well not be the loss of your job. They may just want to know what your plans are, and for you to work with them on transition so the workforce has a minimum of distraction.  They may want to talk with you about the other people's comments (what the person said that talked to HR) and make sure that you are treated respectfully when you are are back at work -- again to keep the workforce to a minimum of distraction AND to minimize their liability.  HR's first, second, and third job responsibility is to keep the employees productively working. However, they may well choose to do that in a way that actually supports you.

In fact, HR would have to be *seriously* incompetent to send you that email with the intent of firing you.  No matter what protections you do or do not have in Ohio, you could still make a whole lot of trouble for them.  And I would imagine that the ACLU would take up your case in a heartbeat!

I'd suggest going into the meeting with a positive attitude. You can always change to bitch-mode later, with a lawyer if necessary.

Kim 

[Eva Marie]

Personally, I think that having that email is gold - print it off and put it in a safe place. If they do anything retaliatory in the future you have iron clad proof that they knew about you.

With that said - you have no way to know their intentions without going in to see them. It seems that the cat is somewhat out of the bag now, and there is really nothing to do but to proudly own it going forward. As someone else said lying about it will only box you in later.

This entire deal could be essentially nothing at all but information gathering on their part.

[Mai]

make sure to bring an audio recording device to record the conversation.  and make sure to inform them that you will be recording it for future reference in case of any changes.  and request a member of management to be present.

if you have a recording that they had a conversation with you about transitioning, and then fired you. it wouldnt matter what they fired you for. you can get them for it.

i record all conversations that i have with management and i only had to inform the shift and store manager that i do so.  the assistant managers and supervisors dont need to know about it (at my place of employment though) in order for me to use it against the company, since their superiors were made aware of it.

[stephaniec]

I find it curious how they found out. Mai has got a very good idea. Lets just hope they are just being nice and want to be good employers and help you out.

[Dena]

Might I make a suggestion and that is let them take the lead for the first part of the conversation and don't volunteer information. You want to learn what they know before you make your play. If you have a cell pone that can record a conversation, turn it on before walking into the office. I watched what happened with my roommate and what most likely happened is somebody spotted you and then made an anonymous report to the company. The company may not have much more of an idea what is going on than you do. This could be an effort to help you but cover your bets just in case.

Something not mentioned is that a prankster may have sent the email to you and it may not have come from personal at all so cover all your bets on this one until it starts to play out.

[Alice Love]

I have no clue how they found out but they did. Overnight crew doesn't work Friday night so I spent the day sleeping in, but day crew and the office do work, they only work 8 hours instead of the usual 10 though. Well when I woke up I had an email notification on my phone and when I looked it was my work email address and the email was from HR.

Once I got some coffee and could see straight again after about 13 hours of sleep (I really needed it lol) I read the email. It read that "the company has been made aware of my gender identity issues and pending gender change." They went on to say that they need me to come to the main building (I work in one of 3 satellite buildings) half an hour early to talk to them.

Honestly I don't know how they found out. I haven't told anyone and my FB is about as private as can be with memes as my picture instead of a picture of myself. I really hope I don't lose this job.....mentally and financially I can't handle it again, plus I really love this job.

Print the email. Contact an attorney immediately. Give no information to HR that they don't already have. Contact an attorney before you see HR.

[awilliams1701]

I'm glad I contacted HR before coming out. They made it clear they were going to work with me and they did both on a personal and professional level. Hopefully this is nothing more than "oh crap how's the bathroom situation going to work out". That was the biggest issue and it eventually went away.

However I also had nothing to lose. I work as a government contractor and Obama gave us legal protection last year. I waited for him to sign it before I spoke to HR.

[Dena]

Flash back time. I completely forgot about this. Back in the early 1980's I was out of job and in an attempt to find work I went to a Temp agency. They sent me out to the Ford Military division in Southern California as a computer operator. When I walked in the door, they had me fill out all the standard paper work until I ran across a question "Have you used any other names?". A cold sweat came across my body and I thought this is a military contractor so I better be truthful and put down my old name. After about 3 weeks things were going along pretty good and they were happy with my work when I was called into a meeting. There must have been about a dozen people around that table but the only one I recall now is the head of security. The ask me about the other name and I came clean. They then told me they were considering me for a permanent position and as it would require a security clearance they needed to be sure I couldn't be compromised and that I had passed the test. I would like to tell you this story has a happy ending but I can't. About a week latter the contract was canceled because word got out that the tank took out an outhouse instead of the target and they had a layoff. As the last one in, I was the first one out the door. And that is the story of my security clearance.

[Julia-Madrid]

Friends, why are we all assuming that the email Karyann has received must automatically imply gloom and doom? 

Should we make the immediate assumption that a transphobic HR group and management team are out to get us?  Perhaps it may be the proactive efforts of HR to assist and support?

Karyann, you've got a lot of ammo here, should you need it.  Let us know what transpires.

Regards
Julia

[Jake25]

What if it turned out to be something as simple as they thought someone else had stolen your identity or that you had stolen someone's identity and wanted to make sure that you weren't a victim of identity theft. Also they may think you're covering up a crime record and want to ask why you changed your name.

I know many people can be prejudiced against transgender and I'll never imagine why or to what extent. It seems like they shouldn't care as long as you didn't do anything illegal.

[Tiffanie]

Friends, why are we all assuming that the email Karyann has received must automatically imply gloom and doom? 

I agree totally - It may be they want to clarify name and gender preferences on the job.

It does not hurt to go in with some legal information if it is needed, but I would go into the meeting confident but neutral in my demeanor.

It very well could be no big deal in teh end.

[awilliams1701]

I know I didn't.

Friends, why are we all assuming that the email Karyann has received must automatically imply gloom and doom? 

Should we make the immediate assumption that a transphobic HR group and management team are out to get us?  Perhaps it may be the proactive efforts of HR to assist and support?

Karyann, you've got a lot of ammo here, should you need it.  Let us know what transpires.

Regards
Julia

[Stevie]

About a week latter the contract was canceled because word got out that the tank took out an outhouse instead of the target and they had a layoff.

Sgt York AA gun (DIVADS) worked on that one too. Was working as associate engineer at company called Avantek back then. Sorry to interupt thread.
Keep that email btw.

[kariann330]

Something not mentioned is that a prankster may have sent the email to you and it may not have come from personal at all so cover all your bets on this one until it starts to play out.

That would be a good thought, except that neither of the email addresses used are public, on a public server, and other than the actual employee the email address is issued to, no one can access it. Yes IT logs all email traffic but they can't even get into your account, they can only reset the password via their administrative access, once reset they don't have a way to get in and send an email because the system sends out a text message with your temporary password.

It might be a small factory, about 250 people maximum, but they have and use some rather advanced programs and machines. Hell we are the only company in north east Ohio with a 800 ton servo press....everyone else has 300-400 ton servos and a wire edm machine just to show how advanced we are.

[iKate]

Friends, why are we all assuming that the email Karyann has received must automatically imply gloom and doom? 

Should we make the immediate assumption that a transphobic HR group and management team are out to get us?  Perhaps it may be the proactive efforts of HR to assist and support?

Karyann, you've got a lot of ammo here, should you need it.  Let us know what transpires.

Regards
Julia

I'm with you. Why mention gender identity if they are going to fire her for it. It's like telling a pregnant woman they found out she is pregnant and are going to fire her as a result. This makes absolutely no sense.

[Jen682]

Kariann,

Try not to sweat it.  They may just want to make sure you are aware of counseling services, etc.  I guess a bathroom discussion would be in order too.

Hopefully they will help you.

Are you full-time with benefits.

BTW, the Veteran's Association recently sent out a disclosure statement explaining who they could/would release confidential medical information without consent.  I read the 8-1/2 x 11 brochure.  As I recall it was 16+ pages long.  I.e., personal medical info can be released to a lot of agencies, and those approving services or payment for services.

Jen