Here is one painless, free way to have a healthy workplace culture: honor your employees gender identity. That’s it. Pronouns, actual (chosen) name, gender. Easy right? Not for everyone.
Walmart has been sued by an employee who transitioned to female and claimed harassment when her managers insisted on using her “dead name” repeatedly. (The name she was given at birth, not the name that reflects her gender identity). This was not a situation where someone mistakenly used her dead name but intentional, repeated use of it. Intentional misgendering is bullying and discrimination–and in this case the worker complained and no action was taken.
This case will likely end badly for Walmart, based on the 2020 Bostock decision by the Supreme Court, where they found: “discrimination based on homosexuality or transgender status necessarily entails discrimination based on sex; the first cannot happen without the second.” In other words, Title VII discrimination is in full force for transgender employees. But you know that.
If you need a handbook or policy updates to ensure you are up to date on the changes of the past few years–there are many–please contact us. We can help.