New York Governor Cuomo has announced his intentions last week to sign an executive order that would ban transgender discrimination. Governor Cuomo’s executive order would ban transgender discrimination not only from the workplace, but also from the housing market.
New York has already long outlawed gender discrimination from these areas, but the executive order will require State agencies to interpret “gender” to include those who are biologically one sex, but follow the social norms of another. Similar laws already exist in the neighboring states of New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
Many cities across the State, including New York City, have already implemented transgender anti-discrimination laws. The State Assembly successfully passed legislation on multiple occasions to protect transgender individuals, but no such bills have yet passed the State Senate. The Governor ‘s executive order does not need legislative approval, and is expected to be signed this week