Trump’s new memo today, March 23, 2018, marks the end of transgendered citizens signing up and joining the U.S. military.  The memo unilaterally interprets and applies governmental policies to ban people suffering from gender dysphoria from joining the military because they require “substantial medical treatment,” like daily medications and even surgery.  The memo argues that only transgendered citizens suffering from gender dysphoria, which is the psychological condition where you’re convinced you’re the opposite gender of your birth biological gender, are barred from military service. 

But that’s just a technicality – by definition, almost 100 percent of transgendered citizens have gender dysphoria, which means the memo effectively bans most, if not all, transgendered citizens from signing up for military service. 

Unlike the other main branches of the U.S. government, the Executive branch, especially the head (the president), has many degrees of leeway when it comes to enacting binding mandates.  It’s the reason why Trump was able to enact the famous overnight travel ban against seven Middle Eastern countries.  It’s also the reason why Roosevelt was able to order the military to detain anyone at all, but mostly Japanese-Americans and Japanese immigrants, in internment camps – basically just singling people out because of their race and forcing them into these camps. 

But the other two main branches of the government can’t enact such radical regulations without passing strict standards.  There’s even more scrutiny when non-governmental entities and individuals try to create radical or overreaching private regulations and bylaws. 

Your Employer May Be Enforcing Illegal Policies Against Transgendered Citizens









Unlike the Executive branch, private companies have to abide by federal and state laws.  Under federal and state employment regulations, private companies aren’t allowed to make significant decisions, like hiring, firing, and promoting you, on the basis of your medical condition except for specific circumstances. 

If you’re transgendered and suffering from gender dysphoria, your employer can’t choose to not hire you (or take any significant action against your employment) on that basis unless having gender dysphoria significantly impacts your ability to perform your employment duties.  In other words, if being transgendered doesn’t impede the nature of your job in any significant way, then your employer can’t discriminate against you by choosing not to promote, train, or to fire and not hire you. 

But let’s say you have asthma and the course of your employment requires you to run or jog throughout your nine-hour shift.  Your employer would have a reasonable basis to fire you on the basis of your asthma because it would significantly hamper your employment duties.  That said, if the routine administration of your medication for gender dysphoria significantly detracts from your daily employment tasks, then your employer would have the right to fire or not hire you based on your condition. 

Otherwise, under new rulings last May, the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) now can be interpreted to cover people with gender dysphoria.  That means, if you’re transgendered and suffering from gender dysphoria, you may now get all the employment law benefits that the ADA provides. 

If you’re facing adverse action by your employer or potential employer on the basis of you being a transgendered citizen, you should seek an employment discrimination lawyer because they may be to stop your employer if his actions are illegal on the basis of unlawful employment discrimination.  Your lawyer may even get a judge to award you money and compensation for any losses you’ve incurred in lost wages and other miscellaneous legal remedies or because the law wants to punish your boss financially. 

Sources:

https://www.justia.com/employment/employment-discrimination/medical-condition-discrimination/

https://transequality.org/blog/breakthrough-americans-with-disabilities-act-can-t-exclude-gender-dysphoria