Cross-dressing

hhaynal

Interesting topic brought to my attention the other day. Mfg mgr said an employee was a known cross-dresser. Generally comes to work with painted nails, make-up and other small incidentals. The mgr is concerned that as the weather warms, there exists the potential that the employee may start to show up for work wearing dresses, hose, heels, etc. Now, taking into consideration safety factors (employees work in a clean room environment), the employee would not be handled any differently than any other male or female and are advised on jewelry and clothing in the mfg area and to also dress appropriately for purposes of donning the clean room outergarments. (There is a common area where all employees go to suit up in the clean room garments.) But if the individual were to show up in a dress, where would he change to appropriate dress for the mfg area? Men and Women rest rooms adjoin a central locker area where employees come in and change room, remove jackets and lock up personal items. Bases are covered as to any sexual harassment issues (annual training and sensitivity classes). My question to the forum is, have I missed something else that I should address proactively?

Balloonman

While he is a cross dresser, you say nothing of transgender issues............. so he uses the same locker room as always, the mens.
From a harassment standpoint, it is a fetish not a sexual orientation thing, so I am not sure. Remember, just cause he is a cross dresser does not mean he is gay, probably is not. Undoubtedly the guys could create a hostile environment for him.... really is not in a category that is protected..........so as long as they do not sexually harass him........... hmmmm tricky situation.
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman

Whatever

HE must use the men's room.

JM in ATL

Agreed about the locker room thing.

But I do have a question. Does your dress code policy state what is acceptable attire for men and women or is it a blanket statement saying "professional attire"?

I specifically addressed this possibility in my dress code stating what was acceptable for women and what was acceptable for men. Including clean manicured fingernails. Women are not to wear any "unprofessional" colors and are encourage to either keep a french manicure or clear polish. If a man insisted on having his nails manicured, I would have to at least insist that he follows dress code and limits it to clear or french.

The situation you described is exactly why I have such policies in place.

hhaynal

Appreciate all of the responses. Our dress code policy states non-mfg employees "use good judgment for decisions on business attire." Our mfg employees, as indicated above, are required to wear various types of apparel depending upon where situated in the plant facility. All employees are advised to wear "appropriate clothing" for the demands of their job but are required to wear proper PPE (steel toe shoes, safety glasses, hard hats, etc.). Since both males and females are in an open area to don cleanroom garments, dresses have not been viewed as appropriate attire.

ray a

Agree with the rest, at minimum he must use men's facilities.

HR Magazine published by SHRM had an article in their Feb. 2003 issue about off duty conduct. The first example was of a cross dresser. You may want to research that article.

Gillian3

At the risk of getting a raft of "there they go again" comments, a Jan. 2004 change in the California discrimination regulations protects employees from gender discrimination - meaning gender identity. It also protects an employee's right to appear or dress according to their gender identity but recognizing the employer right to require reasonable workplace appearance, grooming and dress standards. So, if your employees are here, there is a discrimination law which must be followed.

Balloonman

True, but again, cross dressing is not necessarilly a gender bender issue, more of a fetish or kink. The problem comes in with the blurring of the lines in a courtroom.
my $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman

Carey

Yep - we revised our dress standards to be general for both male and female. We took out gender specific lists of what was considered inappropriate. The law doesn't address restroom facilities, but I would say biology takes precedence if there aren't separate facilities a transgender employee could use.

I found some interesting pictures to use in my manager training presentation.

lynn2008

1. Legal counsel in Kentucky advises as to facility use, go based upon final change of genitals, and breast enlargement/reduction doesn't count.

2. You will have to address the harassment (not sexual per se) with all employees somehow, as new employees may be shocked to see a shemale enter the locker room. Employees are actually pretty flexible - had a male employee who liked women's udnergarments for wear, and we required daily showers for decontamination. Even our rednecks got used to it.

Don't be to hard on X-dressers, when I was in the ARmy back in the 70's, we used to wear "Big Mama's" panty hose to keep warm in subzero temperatures under our combat gear. Just couldn't find them with a fly!

KathiHR

Even with all the good comments, this situation can get even stickier than described here - we are in the middle of it & have yet to figure out a good policy that we are 100% confident in. If a person is having "gender reassignment" surgery, then they must dress the part for a period of time prior to the surgery, which is part of their "preparation". Therefore, when "Bob" comes to work as "Sue", he wants to be called Sue, & he wants to be treated as Sue. And he brings a note from his doctor saying that Bob is now to be treated as Sue as part of his therapy. He wants to go to the women's restroom & join them in feminine activities - fixing hair, makeup, chitchat, etc. Of course, the women don't want him in their restroom, regardless of the name he's chosen. And the men don't want him in their restroom either, dressed as Sue...not to mention whether they even know that Sue is really a Bob. Its a huge problem!

My position has been that just because the doctor sends a note saying Bob wants to be Sue doesn't mean that we have to agree to it. BobbySue here is not covered under ADA & I'm not inclined to accommodate him. Its the doctor's job to turn a Bob into a Sue, not mine. And the doctor doesn't have the right to prescribe how my workforce is handled. Our workplace is not a therapy center for gender reassignment. Now I could be on shaky ground, but that's the position I've taken. When Sue brings me a note saying that all of what made Bob a Bob is gone, then & only then can she join the women in their restroom. So far, our lawyer agrees, but I sure hope we don't have to test our opinions in court. It gets even messier because I don't believe BobbySue qualifies for FMLA, so I probably won't be holding the job. But that opens another can of worms. Anyone else dealt with this? If you haven't, then be warned...the policies you're writing will be covering bigger problem than just cross-dressing.

Kathi

Carey

I would probably be more accommodating, but it might be easier in my work environment. I would try to find "her" a separate restroom facility until the surgery was complete. I would also (with Sue's permission) do a little training with the employees to be sure she was treated with respect. If not, you could face a harassment claim. In CA, of course, she would be protected and we would have to accommodate.

HS

Kudos to you for wanting to make sure that you've looked into covering your bases. I know someone who spent the better part of his life feeling as if he should have been a woman. He got married and had children because it was what society called for. At a turning point in his life, he decided to start with cross-dressing to explore the feelings that he had laid dormant. After a few years, he has decided to become a she and is on a new road in life. It cannot be easy for him/her because there are no rights when it comes to finding a job. He/she has been denied employment for 'various reasons' that do not hold much weight for as a man, he never had an issue with finding a job. He/she is having a difficult time with potential employers recognizing him for who he is. He is hoping that once the transition officially takes place, that it will be easier to find employment.

This may not be the case for your employee, but it sure opened my eyes to hear how difficult it was for someone to go through this. It sure isn't an easy process or decision to make.