You Would Think That They Would Obey The Law

After all they are the police, but they seem to have a problem with Title VII.

Transgender Police Officer Banned From Workplace Restroom
Lambda Legal
By Peter Renn, Staff Attorney
February 2, 2016

Can the government require genital surgery as a condition for equal treatment at work? That’s essentially the question that Brad Roberts faced.

For more than two decades, Brad has worked as a police officer for Clark County School District (CCSD) in Nevada, protecting the safety of the school community.

CCSD is the largest employer in Nevada, with more than 40,000 employees, and is the fifth largest school district in the country.

Brad is a man who is transgender. Although assigned female at birth, his gender identity is male. He began living openly as a man as part of his gender transition. That included using the men’s restroom, like other men.

But CCSD put a stop to that. In 2011, it banned him from the men’s restroom. He could only return if he submitted proof of genital surgery to conform his body to what CCSD believed was appropriate for a man.

Nevada has a gender inclusive non-discrimination law and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act covers sex discrimination which it seems that the school district is ignoring.

Employers don’t get to impose their sex stereotypes on employees. And that protection does not stop at the restroom door. Access to appropriate restrooms is an essential element of all workplaces, and one most of us take for granted.

It is too bad that it takes legal action to get them to obey the law.