Employers Must Provide the Same Facilities for All Genders

People in California know that employers are not supposed to discriminate against employees based on their gender. Gender discrimination can be done in many different ways, though.

It could be in the form of paying one gender less than another, only giving certain opportunities to one gender only, harassing one gender and many other ways. All of these types of actions are illegal.

In addition to not being allowed to discriminate in these ways though employers also must not dictate which facilities a particular gender must use.

California law states that employers must permit their employees to use the facilities that correspond to the employee’s gender identity or gender expression. They cannot require their employees to prove any type of gender transition, procedure or any other type of evidence to use a certain facility.

The employer may provide for people’s privacy though by having locked stalls, staggered schedules and other methods to provide privacy. If the bathroom is a single-occupancy bathroom, it must be labeled neutrally and not assigned to a particular gender.

If the employer violates these rules or does not provide the appropriate facilities or otherwise discriminates against a person according, they may be required to compensate the employer for the damages they cause. These damages can include compensation for back pay if the employee was fired, demoted to a lesser paying position, suspended or discriminated against in other ways that involved losing income. They could also have to compensate the victims for emotional distress.

Experienced attorneys understand the rights of all employees and may be able to help protect them.