Proposed Homeland Security Rule Comment

I previously blogged about a proposed Homeland Security Rule that could impact corporate record-keeping when an employee transitions in the workplace. The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) has weighed in on the subject, submitting official comments on the proposed rule, and suggesting changes before the regulation is adopted.

NCTE notes that it

"receives calls regularly from transgender people across the country who have been outed to their employers by the Social Security Administration's (SSA) unfair gender 'no-match' employment letter policy. We continue to work with individuals to mitigate the impact these letters are having on people's medical privacy and employment security."

NCTE has raised four specific concerns:

1. Gender no-match letters are an invasion of private medical information
2. The strict 60-day time limit is unfair
3. Transgender people do not have access to the required identification
4. The anti-discrimination aspects of the proposed procedure need to be strengthened

The actual comments, which can be viewed on the NCTE website, discuss proposed solutions to these four problems.

When an employee transitions on the job, the proposed regulations create concerns for employers particularly when interacting with anti-discrimination law in the jurisdiction. Employers must decide whether or not to acknowledge an employee's gender transition by changing the gender marker on corporate records, which may trigger no-match rules and consequent penalties.