For over a year, employees of the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) have been subject to a dress code that is transphobic and potentially illegal. The policy has caused turmoil within the agency, emails obtained by the Texas Observer and interviews reveal, along with contributing to a chilling atmosphere for LGBTQ+ workers.
Last April, the Observer broke the news that the TDA had implemented a new dress code which required employees to dress “in a manner consistent with their biological gender”—an apparent attempt to restrict how transgender and nonbinary employees express themselves. Sid Miller, the Texas Agriculture Commissioner, defended the policy in media appearances and on social media. Since then, the nonprofit American Oversight obtained a cache of emails pertaining to the policy through a public information request and provided those emails to the Observer. The emails show that senior agency staff were aware TDA was wading into legally dubious waters and that a number of employees objected to its implementation and felt personally discriminated against.
Austin Kaplan, an employment attorney in Austin, told the Observer he was “surprised” that no one has yet sued TDA over the policy. “It certainly seems like an issue that could be ripe for litigation because it’s right on its face discriminating against people for sexual orientation or transgender status.”
