Those who advise and counsel employers on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Discrimination law and legal opinions have yet another area of concern to address–one emerging as a growth area of both concern and legal precedent-that of the rights of the transgendered.

Transgendered individuals are those believing they were born without the characteristics of typical male/female identity, or are locked in the body of the opposite sex– and some of these concerns have now been expressed– in states such as Massachusetts-by proposing school guidelines which mandate that school systems deal with transgendered individuals by making facilities available to them which will make them comfortable; i.e., restrooms and athletics facilities.

Needless to say, young women in high school might rarely feel comfortable with a transgendered male in their midst in a rest room or changing area for physical fitness facilities.

Alan Guinn, Managing Director of The Guinn Consultancy Group, Inc. and a practicing seminar provider in Sexual Discrimination Avoidance and Training, offers this: “Gain as much knowledge as possible in this area and determine that your business or group is not creating either an event or an ongoing challenge to those deemed “transgendered.” To not do so, you take your business into a possibly periled situation.”

The issue with those transgendered is that their feelings tend to steer them to a higher comfort level with those that might be considered ‘the opposite sex’ from their outward appearance in some cases. Because of the identity issue, the choice of treatment may be hormonal, psychological, or, in some cases, neither. In some cases, the American Medical Association simply advises its members to allow the transgendered individual to live out his or her life in the manner in which they choose.

The question on the minds of many has been expressed in this way: If these actions represent resolution for such a small number of individuals, why must the majority of individuals be subjected to the actions of a few? The answer, it seems, lies with the political correctness of acceptance of a small minority being accepted in lieu of meeting the needs of a much larger majority of individuals.

It is a fact that every State in the USA has different guidelines for allowing alteration of documentation supporting transgendered individuals…indeed; the rights of individuals are mandated by the state in which they reside, so no general purpose guidelines are worthy of suggestion or adherence. Some states, for example, allow the transgendered to alter their birth certificates with their new gender, some…their driver’s licenses. Transgendered individuals are not protected under federal statute, but many individual states have enacted guidelines which, in some cases, might be even more stringent than a federal mandate, were one in place.

According to James P. Ehrhard, owner of the law firm Ehrhard & Associates, P.C., in Worcester, Mass, and an elected member of the Tantasqua (Sturbridge, Mass.) Regional District School Committee , a directive has been issued for guidance at the secondary school level, stating-referring to the directive– “Some of the highlights include allowing transgendered and gender-questioning students to use the bathrooms of their choice or to play on sports teams that correspond to the gender with which they identify. Schools are directed to eliminate gender-based clothing (at some graduations, boys wear blue robes and girls wear white, or they used to) and gender-based activities (including not having boys and girls line up separately to leave the classroom).

Transgender students are those whose assigned birth sex doesn\’t match their \”internalized sense of their gender,\” the directive says, and they \”range in the ways in which they identify as male, female, some combination of both, or neither.\” Therefore, \”the responsibility for determining a student\’s gender identity rests with the student.\”

It appears that with this focus on mid to late-stage teenagers in Massachusetts, employers would do well to complete a briefing with their legal advisors at their earliest convenience as to the current status of the law on transgendered individuals in the states where their businesses are located.

The Guinn Consultancy Group, Inc. conducts business analyses and seminars/webinars on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Discrimination, helping businesses avoid legal issues through planning and proper execution of business education. See the group website at http://www.theguinnconsultancygroup.com or contact

The Guinn Consultancy Group, Inc. conducts business analyses and seminars/webinars on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Discrimination, helping businesses avoid legal issues through planning and proper execution of business education. See the group website at http://www.theguinnconsultancygroup.com or contact

Author Bio: The Guinn Consultancy Group, Inc. conducts business analyses and seminars/webinars on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Discrimination, helping businesses avoid legal issues through planning and proper execution of business education. See the group website at http://www.theguinnconsultancygroup.com or contact

Category: Business Management
Keywords: Sexual Harrassment,Transgender