DALLAS — A federal judge in Texas has ruled that employment protections for gay and transgender workers do not extend to policies regarding dress codes, preferred pronouns or bathroom usage.
Texas joins 20 other states where the protections, laid out in federal guidance issued last summer, are on hold following a judge’s order.
In a Saturday decision, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk said the Biden administration went too far when it said discrimination protections for gay and transgender workers extended to aspects of employment beyond hiring and firing decisions. Only the “status” of being gay or trans is protected, the judge determined, “but not necessarily all related conduct” such as “sex-specific dress, bathroom, pronoun, and healthcare policies.”
