As reported in an editorial by The New York Times over the weekend, New York now is a leader in the area of gender rights. The state already explicitly prohibited discrimination against employees based on sexual orientation, and now Governor Cuomo has proposed regulations which will amend the State Human Rights Law to include a prohibition against discrimination against the transgender.

Transgender is defined in the regulations as a person who is “perceived as having a gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior or expression....that is different from that traditionally associated with the sex assigned to the person at birth.” It also include those suffering from the condition known as “gender dysphoria,” which is now defined as a “disability” under the law.

Individuals who believe that they have been discriminated against or denied reasonable accommodations will have all of the same remedies under the law as those subject to other forms of employment discrimination. Namely, they can file a charge with the state Division of Human Rights, sue in court, or file a charge with the Attorney General.

Kelley Drye will discuss these new regulations as well as other developments in this rapidly-evolving area of employment law at a complimentary CLE seminar, which we are offering on November 5, 2015, in our New York office. For details and to register please visit our website.

Join Kelley Drye on November 5 for a CLE Seminar on LGBT Rights in the Workplace