I am in the process of working on a bad situation at my job.  I have been working in a hostile environment that started at the point I began my transition.  The problem I've run into is that I have to connect the start of my transition to the harassment, which will not be easy due to fact that there doesn't appear to be a defining moment of when transition actually starts.  There's changing your expression of gender and outward appearance ... coming out to coworkers .... receiving the diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria (formerly, Gender Identity Disorder) from a therapist ... changing name and gender marker on your IDs .... hormone therapy ..... and surgery, and not necessarily in this order or with all these elements.  The process various from person to person. 

I'm still pre-op and am almost 3 months along on hormones.  I was outed at work before I came out.  I came out in gradual stages and I changed my outward appearance and gender expression the same way, in stages.  My personal property was searched, I was made to feel like a circus freak due to laughter and stares.  Security watched me for a while before they realized that up close, I am an extremely boring person who gave them nothing to act on because I'm normal.  People misgender and bully me.  They don't take me seriously, and my job has been threatened.  All this began almost a year ago.  This was a job I held for 14 years, and for a long time I considered it as being the job of my lifetime.  So, my question to you all is, what is the legal definition of when a gender transition starts???  This is critical to my case.  I will appreciate any advice or insight on this. 

Thank you.
   

You don't mention what State/Jurisdiction you are in, so I can't point you to specific legal resources in your state.

I might suggest, if there is one available, to consult with an attorney that deals in Workplace Discrimination. A good resource for this would be the local "pink pages" or your local LGBT Chamber of Commerce for attorneys in your area.

Since workplace laws vary wildly from area to area, I would suggest that you find counsel who is geographically somewhat near you as well as competent with this. The consultation may even be free, and could give you at least some direction you can go to.

If you tell me what State/Area you are in (even if it's a PM), I can help you find some resources.

I dont think their is a legal definition.

you said you have to link your abuse to the start of transition somehow? (is this legal advixe your recieved)

as far as i know their is two main typs of transition.

medical
and social.

most aspects of transition fall into either of these two catagories.
medical, covering HRT and surgeries (possible apointments with therapists)
and social covering pretty much everything ells.

however i dont think the start of transition is responcible for the harrasment, but instead the point at which these people bacame awear of your trans nature. (for whatever reason)

IF i had to say their was a start of transition, I would say it was the moment you first did anything from either of these two aspects regardless of the order. eg, if you started dressing first and hrt later then for you its dress. however if somebody started hrt first and dressed later then for them its starting hrt

Sorry to hear about this.

What state is this?

legal protection from harassment should start from the date that you notified your Human Resources Department that you are transgender and are in the process of transitioning.  There is of course subtle harassment which is difficult to prove. I live in a right to work state, which allows employers to terminate an employee for any reason (other than discrimination), without notice, so if an employer wants an employee gone, they can find a way.

Quote from: ButterflyVickster on July 29, 2015, 12:58:30 PM
I dont think their is a legal definition.

you said you have to link your abuse to the start of transition somehow? (is this legal advixe your recieved)

as far as i know their is two main typs of transition.

medical
and social.

most aspects of transition fall into either of these two catagories.
medical, covering HRT and surgeries (possible apointments with therapists)
and social covering pretty much everything ells.

however i dont think the start of transition is responcible for the harrasment, but instead the point at which these people bacame awear of your trans nature. (for whatever reason)

IF i had to say their was a start of transition, I would say it was the moment you first did anything from either of these two aspects regardless of the order. eg, if you started dressing first and hrt later then for you its dress. however if somebody started hrt first and dressed later then for them its starting hrt

I was outed about a month before I began the social stages. The moment HR learned of my being trans is the tricky part, because the person who outed me, told HR when he filed a complaint because it made him uncomfortable. So, HR knew before I came out and started to transition!  However, at the time I had not used the word, transgender.  I said that my male identity was stronger than I realized.  That meeting, they referred to it at that I was having, "gender issues" and this was in July 2014.  I came out at work as transgender to my boss and coworkers in late September 2014 and changed my name and gender marker in March 2015.  I met with my boss and HR to tell them of the name and gender marker change and requested to have everyone address me by my new name and to use male pronouns in Feb. 2015.  This was granted, although various people at work chose to not take it seriously.  As for medical transitioning, I started hormone therapy in May 2015 and am only 3 months along.  Social and medical are the two areas of one's transition, but shouldn't both count equally since not everyone pursues the medical?  I was able to have my gender marker legally changed before having receiving hormones and I am far from surgery.  Does my case sound more like this is harassment because I am transgender? The harassment started at the time I changed my gender presentation and appearance and this is all part of social transition.   

Quote from: iKate on July 29, 2015, 01:53:08 PM
Sorry to hear about this.

What state is this?

The nation's capital, Washington, DC.  I am not kidding either. Sad, isn't it.

My understanding is you don't need to come out or transition. According to the EEOC, you are protected from harassment and discrimination that pertains to your gender identity or expression automatically. You don't need to take an particular action. I'm not a lawyer, but that's my understanding of the way they interpret the law.

Does this help?

I know little about the law, except it never seems to work quite the way you think it should, hence the need for legal advice. I've also found lawyers of various quality, and some are really bad (just like doctors). Try not to take the first one that you come across, or who sounds good.

Having said that I'd think harassment for your gender would start at the point at which they knew your gender was different. Before they knew about your gender its just "normal" harassment, and presumably they didn't start before they knew, and if they did then you might not have a case. It's hard to imagine they would argue in court that because they were harassing you all the time its not gender, but they might say there's some other cause and its your fault. I expect you'd want to prove an earlier date to stop that.

I guess proving any of this is going to be difficult, and I'd also try to work out what is provable when. If you can't prove something there's not much point in considering the date. Is there anything you can do to prove what's happening from this point forward? I assume its not ended.

I sent you a PM with a list of resources and referrals to legal help in the DC area.

I am not an attorney. But my understanding is that sexual harassment and/or discrimination does not rely on a persons outward appearance at all. Regardless of your current state of transition (which is medical care) harassment is an offense of fair labor laws, just as it for anyone else.