I have written a book for HR and legal professionals on the subject of transgender workplace diversity, and it's now available on Amazon.com It is called Transgender Workplace Diversity: Policy Tools, Training Issues and Communication Strategies for HR and Legal Professionals.
The book is intended as an introductory, step-by-step “how-to” for corporate and legal professionals on transgender issues in the workplace.
More information about the book is available at Amazon.com.
If you are interested in reviewing the book for your publication, please contact me at jtwassociates@gmail.com for a review copy via mail or ebook access.
The book is targeted to the needs of employers who are facing transgender issues and want an accessible resource for creating transgender-friendly policies, training management and co-workers, and providing effective communications with clients and customers working with transgender employees. It provides organizational leaders with a roadmap and detailed explanations. It is also useful for transgender employees who want to get their employers on the right track with authoritative information targeted to the modern workplace.
The book provides transgender basics, including the correct terminology to use, and an explanation of the gender transition process impacting the workplace. It discusses gender identity law and policy, such as bathroom and dressing room issues, identification and records changes, and health benefits for transgender employees. It includes a sample gender transition policy, training guidelines, and HR/legal frequently asked questions. An appendix contains legal information important to understanding the complex landscape of federal, state and local regulation.
If you want to see more, here is the introduction and Table of Contents:
This book is intended for professionals in human resources, diversity and law who are faced with issues of transgender workplace diversity in the United States. In today’s world, if you work for an organization that wishes to be considered an employer of choice, it is essential to understand transgender issues and how these play out in the organizational context. This book addresses transgender basics, gender identity law, policy issues, and gender transition guidelines. It specifically sets forth what steps to take and what issues to consider when confronted with an employee who wishes to transition from one gender to another. Not all transgender employees will wish to transition, but those who do present a major challenge to workplace diversity resources. The goal of this book is to develop cultural competence and knowledge resources so that transgender workplace diversity issues can be addressed successfully for everyone concerned.
This work is only an introduction to the issues that face employers of transgender workers. There is much more that could be said about these issues, and I plan a more comprehensive work for the future. However, it is my hope that this book will get some useful information into the hands of those now confronting these issues. At the same time, it is important to note that successful integration of transgender employees requires the introduction and negotiation of many changes in order to make an organization into a safe place for transgender employees. The issues are complicated by cultural and social mores that frown on transgender identity, and ignorance of the needs of transgender employees. Creating a safe environment for transgender workers requires three areas of action: policy development, training programs and communications planning and strategy. In my experience as a consultant to Fortune 500 companies, full development and implementation generally takes coordination among many departments and managers for a year or two.
This is designed to be a practical book. The main issue faced by HR and legal professionals in the organizational environment is what steps to take when notified of an imminent gender transition in the workplace. What should be done about facilities access, employment records, insurance benefits, and concerns of co-workers and customers? For this reason, the table of contents is issue-oriented, including such topics as medical issues, anti-discrimination statutes, policy tools for gender transition, and sample step-by-step guidelines for HR managers. The book starts with a discussion of transgender basics, moves to a brief analysis of the law of gender identity, gives information on some of the major policy issues, such as bathroom usage, and provides a comprehensive sample policy for gender transition. An Appendix includes the text of relevant regulations issued by OSHA, the EEOC and three major cities, as well as the major court opinions on Title VII, state disability statutes, and bathroom and dressing room usage. There is purposely no discussion of gender theory, legal history, medical controversies or other academic issues of secondary concern to HR and legal professionals. Such discussions are interesting, and I am planning a more academic treatment in the future. This volume, however, remains firmly rooted in the practical question: “What do I do now?”
The table of contents is below:
I. TRANSGENDER BASICS
A. Terminology
B. The Gender Transition Process
C. Medical issues impacting the workplace
D. Physical changes to expect
II. GENDER IDENTITY LAW
A. Types of law in the United States
B. Statutory definitions
III. POLICY ISSUES AND TOOLS
A. The Gender Transition Plan
B. Bathrooms and Dressing Rooms
C. Dress Codes
D. Identification and Records Changes
E. Health Benefits
IV. SAMPLE GENDER TRANSITION GUIDELINES
A. Sample Gender Transition Policy
1. Purpose/Summary
2. Company Commitment and Objectives
3. Definitions
4. Steps to be taken upon notification of gender transition
5. Responsibilities of Employee in Transition, Supervisory
Management and Co-workers
6. Resources
B. Draft Gender Transition Plan
C. Gender Transition Guidance Memo for HR Professionals
1. Introduction
2A. Initial Employee Meeting
2B. Initial Management Meeting
2C. Follow up meeting with employee and management
2D. Guidelines Review Session
3. Facilities Usage Criteria
4. Legal Aspects
D. Training Co-workers - Guidelines Review Session
1. Company Commitment and Objectives
2. Requirements for Session
3. Draft Agenda
4. Model Employee and Management Letter
E. Gender Transition: Frequently Asked Questions
APPENDIX
REGULATORY ISSUES
OSHA Bathroom Regulations
EEOC Enforcement Guidance on Disability-Related Inquiries
New York City Guidelines
District of Columbia Regulations
San Francisco Regulations
LITIGATION
Smith v. City of Salem
Enriquez v. West Jersey Health Systems
Julienne Goins v. West Group
Opilla v. Lucent Technologies
