Legal Ban in San Antonio, Texas?

[LJfusion]

I am prepared to start hormones next Wednesday, as of right now. However, I'm worried about my job. My health issues sort of limit me to what I can do so I found the perfect job. This companies handbook doesn't mention gender identity, or gender and sexual orientation.

I tried calling the HR department for answers but no one answered nor called back. So now I'm afraid to ask my supervisor incase they aren't trans friendly and will fire me for bringing it up. Maybe I'm just paranoid but I am really worried about losing this job, especially without having a back up in place due to my health.

I decided to hit the internet and do some research regarding the laws for transgender employees. What I found is Title VII(EEOC) covers gender identity but people still get fired. Only 17(maybe 21 now??) states make it a requirement for companies to protect trans employees. When googling specifics for Texas, I read that there was an ordinance that was passed in September of 2013 protecting gender identity in the workplace.

On sanantonio.gov I found information on the ordinance that says it does "Expand the City's current non- discrimination policy to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and veteran status" but does not "add any new employment regulations on businesses operating within the city that do not contract with the City of San Antonio". It also says on there that "San Antonio is the only major city in Texas not to include protections for LGBT residents in city code."


This is another bit I found on the website, under FAQs for the ordinance. "On September 5, 2013, City Council adopted the Non-Discrimination Ordinance (NDO) which consolidated the City's non-discrimination policies in the City Code.

The NDO applies to city employment, city contracts and subcontracts, appointments to Boards and Commissions, housing, and places of public accommodation and prohibits discrimination on the basis of an individual's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability, familial status, national origin or age."

Does all this mean that if I tell my employer that I'm transgender, I cannot be fired? My therapist told me my job can fire me without "gender identity" mentioned in the handbook and said I should look into other jobs. So I'm very confused. Any info would be great, thank you.

[Beth Andrea]

We are on the "cutting edge" of civil rights for trans riggts in the US. That may explain HR's lack of reply to you, they are consulting with their lawyers to see which way history will go.

You don't have to tell anyone your choices for medical treatment. Hormones take a while to show their effect, anyway.

https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/wysk/enforcement_protections_lgbt_workers.cfm#applicable

Applicable Federal Law
EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate in employment against a job applicant, employee, or former employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.  These federal laws also prohibit employers from retaliating against workers who oppose discriminatory employment practices - for example, by reporting incidents of sexual harassment to their supervisor or human resources department - or against those who participate in an employment discrimination proceeding - for example by filing an EEOC charge, cooperating with an EEOC investigation, or participating in an employment discrimination lawsuit.
While Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not explicitly include sexual orientation or gender identity in its list of protected bases, the Commission, consistent with Supreme Court case law holding that employment actions motivated by gender stereotyping are unlawful sex discrimination and other court decisions, interprets the statute's sex discrimination provision as prohibiting discrimination against employees on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Good luck!

[cheryl reeves]

Texas is a right to work state which employers hold all the power,you can be fired for sneezing wrong,or saying merry Christmas..Some Texas cities have policies in place too go around Texas law on this.

[cindianna_jones]

You can get laid off from any job for any reason. If they don't want you for being trans, they'll lay you off for another reason and be perfectly legal. Unfortunately, that's where we are.... still.

You don't need their permission to start. They don't need to know anything about your medical care.

[stoutdriver79]

I live in San Antonio too, unfortunately some companies here aren't as progressive as others. I work for a very conservative company and transitioning there would be difficult. But it's none of their business how you choose to present yourself.  And if they know what's good for them, they will treat you equally.

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[kittenpower]

You can get laid off from any job for any reason. If they don't want you for being trans, they'll lay you off for another reason and be perfectly legal. Unfortunately, that's where we are.... still.

You don't need their permission to start. They don't need to know anything about your medical care.

This is so true; employers can discriminate without "officially" discriminating, especially if you live in a right to work state (I'm not sure if Texas is or not, though).