HRC Praises New Federal Guidance on Protecting Transgender Federal Workers

The Human Rights Campaign, America's largest LGBT civil rights organisation, today praised the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for publishing guidance regarding transgender federal employees.  Pursuant to a June 2009 presidential memorandum regarding federal employees, OPM added gender identity to the categories protected under the equal employment opportunity policy for Executive Branch positions.  

The guidance published today, available at www.opm.gov/diversity/Transgender/Guidance.asp, provides further information to federal managers and human resources officials to ensure that transgender employees are treated fairly and equally in their public service to our nation.

“It is an essential American value that workers be judged on their merits, not personal characteristics like gender identity that have no bearing on how well you can do the job,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese.  “Today’s guidance will help to ensure that all federal workers – whether fighting fires in our national forests, prosecuting federal crimes in court, conducting groundbreaking cancer research or making sure this week’s pay check gets to your mailbox – will be treated with the fairness and dignity they deserve.  We thank President Obama and OPM Director John Berry for their leadership in providing a federal workforce that welcomes all who would enter public service, including transgender people.”

As part of its Blueprint for Positive Change, a series of policy recommendations to improve the lives of LGBT Americans and their families, HRC urged the Obama administration to extend protections to transgender federal workers.