Thursday, May 19, 2016

In NYC, you can be fined $250,000 for not using ‘preferred gender pronouns’



For those who wish to avoid “civil penalties up to $125,000 for violations, and up to $250,000 for violations that are the result of willful, wanton, or malicious conduct,” the New York City Commissions on Human Rights has some guidance on obeying the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL):
Covered entities may avoid violations of the NYCHRL by creating a policy of asking everyone what their preferred gender pronoun is so that no individual is singled out for such questions and by updating their systems to allow all individuals to self-identify their names and genders. They should not limit the options for identification to male and female only.
The passage is one example of many ways for residents to avoid violations outlined by the city.
It’s important that the law claims “refusal to use a transgender employee’s preferred name, pronoun, or title may constitute unlawful gender-based harassment” because, as Volokh explains, an employer would have to fire employees or eject patrons who do not use preferred pronouns.