Mark Daniel Snyder
Communications Manager, Transgender Law Center
The EEOC and Sissies Like Me: How the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Made the Case for a United LGBT Movement
Posted: 05/07/2012 5:07 pm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-daniel-snyder/eeoc-transgender-rights_b_1480112.html (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-daniel-snyder/eeoc-transgender-rights_b_1480112.html)
I had never heard of the EEOC before my coworker said we were hoping for a ruling from them that would protect transgender people under Title VII, the law that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. I asked around, and most of my friends had never heard of it, either.
Let me break it down. The EEOC interprets and enforces employment anti-discrimination laws. They're one of those super-important governmental agencies that many people never hear about until an issue like this comes up for an individual or community. Take a look at their website, and you'll get a sense of all the work they do to ensure equality in the workplace.
When they finally did issue the ruling that trans people are protected by Title VII, everyone here at the Transgender Law Center was ecstatic. For the first time ever transgender people throughout the country can file discrimination complaints at their local EEOC offices knowing that they are protected by federal law.