• 03
  • October
    2011

The California Senate recently passed a new bill shoring up California state nondiscrimination laws to further protect the state's transgender citizens. The bill would clarify protections under California's existing nondiscrimination laws, aiding transgender citizens who experience employment discrimination and housing discrimination.

The bill, AB 887, is titled the Gender Nondiscrimination Act. It passed the Senate, 25 votes to 13. The bill had previously passed the State Assembly, 54 votes to 24. The legislation was sponsored by Toni Atkin (D-San Diego). Atkin expressed hope that the bill would "move us closer to equality for every Californian." The bill is now with Governor Brown who is expected to sign the bill into law.

California's laws already provide protection against gender discrimination, a term which has been legally defined to include both gender expression -- how others view or interpret an individual's gender -- and gender identity -- how an individual views his own gender. This latest bill will expand that protection by specifically citing these factors in existing laws in a more simplified fashion.

The aim of the bill is to make transgendered citizens, as well as employers and landlords, aware of and better able to understand existing protections. In fact, the Transgender Law Center reports that a large majority of California's transgendered victims of employment discrimination do not take action usually because they are unaware of existing legal protections.

If you are a transgendered Californian who has experienced housing or employment discrimination, know that the actions against you were likely illegal, both before and after the passage of the Gender Nondiscrimination Act. Talk to an experienced employment discrimination attorney. Taking legal action can not only help to provide justice in your particular case, but it can also help to protect those who come after you.

Source: Care 2, "CA Senate Passes Gender Identity Protections," Steve W., Sept. 1, 2011