These guides, created in collaboration with Transgender Law Center, are designed to support transgender and non-binary workers in knowing and exercising your rights at work when it comes to caring for yourself and the people you love.
The guides outline common scenarios that transgender and non-binary individuals may experience, including the need to take leave to recover from gender-affirming surgery and other medical care, bond with a new child, or take care of chosen family and other loved ones. They also provide information about receiving an accommodation at work during pregnancy or after giving birth, and accessing a private space to pump milk at work. Finally, they address what to do if you have experienced retaliation or your rights have been violated.
Transgender and non-binary people face higher rates of employment discrimination, and this is especially true for Black and Indigenous people and other people of color. Though several states now have paid leave laws that cover LGBTQ+ people and families including chosen family, large gaps in protection remain. For transgender and non-binary people who are pregnant, preparing for birth, and postpartum, accessing accurate and affirming information is difficult to impossible. In this moment when governments are stripping away rights and calling the existence of transgender and non-binary individuals and communities into question, accessing practical up-to-date information is vital.
This guide provides an overview of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for transgender and non-binary workers, a federal law that requires employers who meet certain requirements to offer unpaid, job-protected leave to qualifying individuals recovering from a serious health condition, bonding with a new child, or caring for certain seriously ill family members.
Fourteen states (including D.C.) have their own paid family and medical leave programs. Many states and cities have sick and safe time laws as well. This guide provides an overview of several different types of laws that impact transgender and non-binary workers’ ability to take leave from work and information about how to make sure one’s rights are enforced when trying to use these laws.
This guide provides information for transgender and non-binary workers about rights under the Pregnant Worker’s Fairness Act (PWFA) and the PUMP Act, including the right to reasonable accommodations at work, a designated place to pump milk and breaks for pumping, and postpartum (the time period following childbirth) protections.
