June 2, 2015

On Monday, the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a best practices guide that will ensure transgender employees has access to the restroom that corresponds to their gender identity.

The 4-page "Guide to Restroom Access for Transgender Workers" provides guidance to employers on best practices regarding restroom access for transgender workers, with the goal of assuring that employers provide a safe and healthy working environment for all employees.

The guidance states that: “Restricting employees to using only restrooms that are not consistent with their gender identity, or segregating them from other workers by requiring them to use gender-neutral or other specific restrooms, singles those employees out and may make them fear for their physical safety. Bathroom restrictions can result in employees avoiding using restrooms entirely while at work, which can lead to potentially serious physical injury or illness.”

Our partners at the National Center for Transgender Equality worked with OSHA to develop the guide, and will be working with them to promote these guidelines and educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities surrounding restroom access.

“OSHA is making clear that denying something basic as restroom access to transgender workers is not only an assault on dignity and their rights, but a threat to their health as well,” said NCTE policy director Harper Jean Tobin. "All employers should take note, and workers should use this document as another tool to assert their rights."

This guide follows a historic ruling from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), declaring that denying transgender employees access to the correct restroom is discrimination.

Great work OSHA and NCTE! And thank you to our members in the states who continue to advocate for transgender rights nationwide.

You can read the guidance below, or download it here.