Filing A Complaint.

Do you know how hard it is to prove discrimination?

The deck is stacked against us, your employer just about has to come out and say that they are not hiring you or they fired you because you are trans.

For Transgender People, Workplace Discrimination Is a Reality, Supreme Court Ruling or Not

Amid a wave of new anti-trans state laws, Transcendence is a series centering the lived experience and resilience of trans youth. In this reported op-ed, transgender musician, writer, performance artist and comedienne Polly Anna Rocha writes about what a Supreme Court ruling and  the coronavirus mean for trans people at work.

TeenVogue

By Polly Anna Rocha

June 18, 2020

When I graduated from college in the spring of 2015, I was unemployed, newly transitioning and entirely unprepared for the overwhelming negative impact that being openly trans would have on my employment status.

In the following months, I learned my trans identity would be the focal point of every job interview going forward. I learned that I would always be judged and picked apart for my appearance, or singled out for having my dead name and assigned gender marker on my driver’s license. This was made especially clear when I landed my first job as an out trans employee.

[…]

In the midst of an economic crisis fueled by COVID-19, the transgender community is among the most vulnerable populations as workers across the country face pandemic-related workplace shutdowns. While a new Supreme Court ruling has offered nondiscrimination protections for trans people — meaning we can file a case if we are fired for being trans — the realities of working while trans remain bleak.

[…]

Mathews said the pandemic has exposed the ways trans people ignore microaggressions and harassment to de-escalate a confrontation or limit an interaction in the workplace. In other words, many of us need to be employed more than we need to feel safe or valued at our jobs.

It is so hard to prove discrimination especially when looking for a job, they can come up with a thousand reasons why they didn’t hire you and you have to prove that it was only because you’re trans. Unless they are really, really stupid and the say in the interview “We don’t hire trans people.”

When I was a supervisor I was told by HR a few time to keep track of an employee and I told my employee is tracking them and they also should keep a logbook.

The best advice that I can give trans people is if you haven’t transitioned yet don’t until you have an employee review under your belt before you transition. I know it sucks but if you want a good job and you can possibly wait 6 months to transition do so. Because once you have a couple of performance reviews in your file it will be a lot harder to fire you.

And as I said above keep a logbook, write everything down because if you do file a discrimination complaint you will need that information… I went to HR on this date and time and told them that this person said this to me.

It sucks… but that is the reality that we live in.

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Discrimination is not just about work, it is about all aspects of of our lives including education and the government.

Congressional delegation blasts DOE transgender ruling

Education Week

By Associated Press

June 18, 2020

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A group of Congressional Democrats is condemning a recent decision by the U.S. Department of Education that threatens to withhold federal funds over a Connecticut policy allowing transgender girls to compete against non-transgender girls in high school sports.

The group of 28 lawmakers sent a letter Wednesday to Kenneth Marcus, the department's assistant secretary for civil rights, questioning the motives and legal reasoning behind the May decision that found Connecticut's policy is a violation of Title IX, the federal civil rights law that guarantees equal education opportunities for women.

“Title IX was never meant to be used as a tool to threaten schools into discriminatory practices in order to preserve critically needed federal funds,” said Connecticut U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, a former national teacher of the year.

[…]

The Congressional letter, which was signed six of the seven members of the Connecticut delegation and 22 other congressional Democrats, questions notes that cisgender girls have beaten one of those transgender athletes in 10 different races.

Among other things, the members of Congress have demanded to know why the Department of Education is apparently violating its own policy by not deferring the federal court case.

I think that Monday’s Supreme Court ruling will have an affect on this, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Title IX argument banning us used the same reasons and logic that was struck down by the court for Title VII. I wouldn’t be surprise if a motion is brought in the court case motioning to drop the case because of the Supreme Court ruling.