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Strategies for Strengthening Law Firm Policies Amidst Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation



Friday, June 21, 2024  

Posted by: Sasha Buchert


Anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has increased dramatically over the last several years, with hundreds of bills targeting the rights of transgender and nonbinary people. Within the first few months of 2024, it is estimated that more than 500 pieces of legislation in 41 states have been proposed that seek to marginalize transgender people in a wide variety of ways. Instead of working on issues that Americans truly care about — such as health care coverage or safer schools — far-right state legislators are choosing to focus their time and energy on bullying the LGBTQ+ community.


In this current legal and political climate, with non-binary and transgender persons continuing to take the full force of these attacks, law firms across the country need to update their policies in response to the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.


Tips for Creating Policies to Support an Inclusive Workplace Culture


It is essential for workforce equity and inclusion that law firms have policies in place that explicitly protect employees based on sexual orientation and gender, and those policies are crucial for creating an inclusive and welcoming workplace. Here are three ways to accomplish this:


Review existing policies. Identify any gaps or areas that need improvement in terms of LGBTQ+ inclusivity. This included policies related to hiring, promotion, anti-discrimination, benefits, dress code, and employee conduct.

Implement non-discrimination policies. Non-discrimination policies help ensure equal opportunity as well as retain and acquire diverse talent. These policies should be included in employee handbooks and be easily accessible to clients, vendors, and other associated parties.


Offer gender-inclusive benefits. Review your firm’s benefits packages to ensure they are inclusive of LGBTQ+ employees and their families. This may include offering transgender-inclusive healthcare coverage, family leave policies that recognize diverse family structures, and gender-neutral restroom facilities.

These recommendations are not an exhaustive list. We will expand on these employee support strategies, as well as others, in another article.


Choosing the Right Language for Your Policy


Lambda Legal’s history, precedent, experience, and ongoing matters give us the knowledge to share and recommend a model workplace LGBTQ+ corporate policy provided by the Transgender Law Center:


Our company does not discriminate in any way on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. This policy is designed to create a safe and productive workplace environment for all employees. This policy sets forth guidelines to address the needs of transgender and gender non-conforming employees and clarifies how the law should be implemented in situations where questions may arise about how to protect the legal rights or safety of such employees.


This policy does not anticipate every situation that might occur with respect to transgender or gender non-conforming employees, and the needs of each transgender or gender non-conforming employee must be assessed on a case-by-case basis. In all cases, the goal is to ensure the safety, comfort, and healthy development of transgender or gender non-conforming employees while maximizing the employee’s workplace integration and minimizing stigmatization of the employee.


The Transgender Law Center’s model workplace employment policy also includes definitions that can help readers understand the policy and employers' legal obligations. The policy defines terms such as gender expression, gender identity, gender non-conforming, LGBTQ+, transgender, transition, and sexual orientation.


While equitable policies are crucial to non-binary and transgender inclusion in the workforce, they cannot solely support an inclusive workplace culture. In addition to an updated policy, employers must also consider additional programming and educational efforts. These can take the form of informal discussions, training modules, or even educational programs on transgender issues conducted by outside facilitators.


Additional Resources for Policy Development


As many law firms know, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index is a national benchmarking tool for corporate policies, practices, and benefits for LGBTQ+ employees. A driving force in workplace inclusion, the index tracks two decades of growth in employers’ commitment to equality and adoption of critical policies.


The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Case Tracker maps legislation across the U.S. that targets LGBTQ+ rights and causes harm to the LGBTQ+ community. The ACLU works with its national network of affiliates to monitor state legislatures; the ACLU’s legal staff reviews each piece of legislation before adding it to the tracker. Lambda Legal is a proud partner of the ACLU.


The Transgender Law Center is the largest national trans-led organization advocating self-determination for all people. The organization’s Legal Service Project, with its attorney solidarity network, legal information helpdesk, and other resources, helps change law, policy, and attitudes so everyone can live safely and free from discrimination. Lambda Legal is also proud to partner with the Transgender Law Center.


Lambda Legal: Advocating for the Transgender Community


Whether you have an office in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, or any of the numerous states where Lambda Legal has a case, the organization can help support your firm and its LGBTQ+ initiatives through policy review, in-person or virtual training programs, pro bono work, and more. For more than five decades, Lambda Legal has proudly advocated and served as attorneys for the LGBTQ+ community. Its lawyers have made legal history and won precedent-setting civil rights cases on everything from gender identity and marriage equality to health care discrimination.


“Since 1973, Lambda Legal has fiercely advocated for the LGBTQ+ community,” said Kevin Jennings, CEO of Lambda Legal. “Now more than ever, the LGBTQ+ community must and will stand up and fight for our rights. At Lambda Legal, we vow to keep fighting for the next 50 years to protect and advance our rights and freedoms.”


Lambda Legal is currently focused on expanding and defending protections for non-binary and transgender people, some of the most vulnerable members of the community. According to recent data:


47% of all trans people have reported being mistreated by medical providers.

Transgender people are more than four times as likely to experience violence than cisgender people.


Four out of five transgender adults report that discrimination has negatively impacted their ability to be hired. There is no one universal LGBTQ+ experience in America which is why Lambda Legal’s work in litigation, public policy, and education is so crucial.


The organization helps nonbinary and transgender people navigate legal issues such as access to identity documents, health care, and inclusive school policies. It also advocates public policy initiatives at the local, state, and federal levels and defends non-binary and trans rights in court.


Lambda Legal has numerous cases pending before the federal courts, including one petition for certiorari before the U.S. Supreme Court, which will impact the transgender and non-binary communities. (Please see the active cases below). Depending on the outcomes, law firms may want to further update their policies and support activities.


Active Lambda Legal Cases


PFLAG v. Office of the Attorney General of Texas


Status: Filed 2/29/24 in the District Court of Travis County, Texas


Issues: Transgender and Nonbinary Rights, Youth


Lambda Legal, ACLU, ACLU of Texas, and Transgender Law Center, along with pro bono counsel Arnold & Porter, filed a petition on behalf of PFLAG, Inc. seeking to set aside the Attorney General’s investigative demands requiring PFLAG to turn over documents, communications, and information related to PFLAG’s support for Texas families with transgender adolescents.


The petition claims the Attorney General is acting outside of its authority under the consumer protection laws, retaliating against PFLAG for representing its members’ interests in separate lawsuits, and infringing PFLAG’s and its members’ constitutional free speech and association rights, as well as their rights to be free from unconstitutional searches and seizures.



Soe v. Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners


Status: Filed 1/8/24 in the Civil District Court for the Parish of New Orleans


Issues: Health Care Fairness, Transgender and Non-binary Rights


Lambda Legal and Harvard Law School’s Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation filed suit on behalf of five transgender Louisiana youth and their families against the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners to block the implementation of HB 648. The “Health Care Ban” bill would prohibit the provisions of needed gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors and punish Louisiana healthcare providers for providing such care.



Voe v. Mansfield


Status: Filed 10/11/23 in the District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina


Issues: Transgender and Nonbinary Rights, Health Care Fairness, Students' Rights


Lambda Legal and the National Health Law Program sued North Carolina to block the implementation of a discriminatory law banning the provision and state funding of medically necessary care for transgender youth in North Carolina. The legal advocates also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of the ban as the court challenge proceeds, which remains pending.



L.W. et al v. Skrmetti et al


Status: Filed 4/20/2023 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee


Issues: Transgender and Nonbinary Rights, Youth


Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Tennessee, and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP sued the state of Tennessee to block its discriminatory ban on medically necessary gender affirming care for Tennessee’s transgender youth. Lambda Legal and our partners have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to review the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in this case.



About Lambda Legal


Lambda Legal has been at the forefront of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights for 50 years as a national legal nonprofit organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of LGBTQ+ individuals and people living with HIV. Lambda Legal’s lawyers have won precedent-setting civil rights cases on everything from marriage equality to expressions of gender identity to health care discrimination. Through education, advocacy, and legal action, Lambda Legal strives to protect and advance the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, advocating for a society that embraces diversity and inclusivity. The nonprofit can be found online at https://lambdalegal.org/.


Many ALFDP members are among the roster of pro bono and financial supporters of the organization, including:


Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP


Allen & Overy


Arnold Porter Kaye Scholer LLP


Baker Botts LLP


Baker McKenzie LLP


Barnes & Thornburg LLP


Cadwalader, Wickersham, & Taft LLP


Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP


Chapman and Cutler LLP


Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP


Davis Polk Wardwell LLP


DLA Piper LLP (US)


Foley & Lardner LLP


Fox Rothschild, LLP


Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP


Greenberg Traurig


Ice Miller LLP


Jenner & Block LLP


Kirkland & Ellis LLP


Kramer Levin Naftalis and Frankel LLP


Mayer Brown LLP


McDermott, Will & Emery


Milbank LLP


Morrison & Foerster LLP


O’Melveny & Myers LLP


Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP


Perkins Coie LLP


Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP


Reed Smith LLP


Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP


Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP


Vinson & Elkins LLP


Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz


If you would like to make a contribution to Lambda Legal’s urgent fight for equality, please visit our donate page to make your 100% tax deductible gift online: www.lambdalegal.org/donate. If you or someone you know has experienced discrimination, please contact our Legal Help Desk: https://www.lambdalegal.org/helpdesk.


Sasha Buchert is a senior attorney in the Washington D.C. office of Lambda Legal and the director of the Non-Binary and Transgender Rights Project.

 
 
 

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