Number: RL34242
Title: Gender Identity Discrimination in Employment: Analysis of H.R. 3686 in the 110th Congress
Authors: Edward Chan-Young Liu, American Law Division 
Abstract: On September 27, 2007, Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts introduced two bills that separately prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, respectively. The bills appear to separate the issues of sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination that had been conjoined in an earlier bill, also introduced by Representative Frank. H.R. 3686, which appears to represent the half of the earlier bill that dealt with employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity, would be the first federal prohibition on gender identity discrimination, if enacted.  However, predicting how its provisions would be applied is complicated by existing judicial interpretations of "sex" under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that may also incorporate instances of gender identity discrimination.
Pages: 9
Date: November 6, 2007