How Have States and Municipalities Dealt with Transgender Discrimination?
Currently, California, Minnesota, Rhode Island and New Mexico are the only states that explicitly include the term gender identity in their anti-discrimination laws. Five additional states have judicial or administrative rulings in which discrimination based on gender identity has been found to be actionable under sex and/or disability discrimination laws. They are: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Hawaii. Many states have modeled their disability laws after the ADA, so in those states, the transgender community is also exempt from coverage.
Many jurisdictions nationwide have added gender identity to their local non-discrimination ordinances. Those include: Chicago and Cook County, Ill.; Pittsb urgh, Philadelphia and Allentown, Pa.; Dallas; Denver; Ypsilanti, Mich.; Baltimore; and Portland, Ore. For a full list, visit HRC Foundation’s WorkNet project.