Finding the Facts - Disciplinary and Harassment Investigation

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R EGULATIONS R EGARDING T RANSGENDER I DENTITY AND E XPRESSION Effective July 1, 2017, the new DFEH regulations (California Code of Regulations, Title 2, sections 11030, 11031, and 11034) expand protections available for people who identify as transgender. They also expand protections for gender identity and gender expression. California has adopted similar regulations in the past, such as gender-neutral restrooms, to ensure protection for more individuals. Employers are now prohibited from seeking gender or sex-related information from applicants and employees, including seeking proof of an applicant’s or employee’s gender or gender identity. Employers also must honor an employee’s request to be identified by a preferred gender, name, or pronoun, including gender-neutral pronouns. Definitions have also been expanded to include employees who are currently transitioning or are perceived to be transitioning. The FEHA regulations were also revised to use more gender- neutral language. The revised regulations stress that employees have the right to use the restroom or locker room that correspond to their gender identity or expression.

The full text of the revisions can be found here: https://www.dfeh.ca.gov/wp- content/uploads/sites/32/2017/06/FinalTextRegTransgenderIdExpression.pdf

See also DFEH publication on “Transgender Rights in the Workplace” https://www.dfeh.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/11/DFEH_E04P-ENG-2017Nov.pdf

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