§ 2-06 Prohibition on Discrimination Based on Gender.
RCNY § 2-06
The following requirements apply with respect to Title 8 of the Administrative Code's prohibition on unlawful discriminatory practices based on gender: (a) Deliberate Refusal to Use an Individual's Self-Identified Name, Pronoun or Title. A covered entity's deliberate refusal to use an individual's self-identified name, pronoun and gendered title constitutes a violation of § 8-107 of the Administrative Code where the refusal is motivated by the individual's gender. This is the case regardless of the individual's sex assigned at birth, anatomy, gender, medical history, appearance, or the sex indicated on the individual's identification except in the limited circumstance where Federal, State, or Local law requires otherwise (e.g., for purposes of employment eligibility verification with the Federal government). Asking someone in good faith their name or which pronoun they use is not a violation of the Human Rights Law. a. Examples of violations. i. Deliberately calling a transgender woman "Mr." after she has made clear that she uses female titles. Deliberately using the pronoun "he" for a non-binary person who is perceived as male but has indicated that they identify as non-binary and use the pronouns "they," "them," and "theirs." ii. Conditioning an individual's use of their self-identified name on obtaining a court-ordered name change or providing identification in that name. For example, a covered entity may not refuse to call a transgender student by her self-identified name because her self-identified name does not appear on her birth certificate. iii. Asking or requiring an individual to provide information about their medical history or proof of having undergone medical procedures to use their self-identified name, pronoun, or title. iv. Refusing to use an employee's self-identified name in their email account. v. Failing or refusing to include a patient's self-identified name and self-reported gender in their medical record, resulting in the patient being misgendered by staff, even if a patient's sex assigned at birth or gender transition may be recorded for the purpose of providing medical care.
(b)Refusing to Allow Individuals to Use Single-Gender Facilities or Participate in Single-Gender Programs Consistent with their Gender Identity. Covered entities must allow individuals to use single-gender facilities – such as bathrooms, locker rooms, or hospital rooms – and participate in single-gender programs consistent with their gender identity, regardless of their sex assigned at birth, anatomy, medical history, appearance, or the sex indicated on their identification. a. It is not a defense to a charge of violating the Human Rights Law that some people, including, for example, customers, other program participants, tenants, or employees, may object to sharing a facility or participating in a program with a transgender, non-binary, or gender non-conforming person. Such objections are not a lawful reason to deny access to that transgender, non-binary, or gender non-conforming individual. b. Examples of violations. i. Prohibiting a person from participating in the single-gender program consistent with their gender identity or expression because they do not conform to gender stereotypes. ii. Requiring a gender non-conforming person to provide proof of their gender to access the single-gender program or facility corresponding to their gender. iii. Requiring a non-binary person to use a single-occupancy restroom instead of a shared bathroom. iv. Barring a transgender girl from participating in a single-gender after-school program out of concern that she will make other students uncomfortable. v. Forbidding a transgender person from sharing a room with people of the same gender in a residential treatment facility with single-gender shared rooms.
(c)Imposing Different Dress or Grooming Standards Based on Gender. Covered entities may not require dress codes or uniforms, or apply grooming or appearance standards, that impose different requirements for individuals based on their gender. a. It is not a defense to a charge of discrimination that a covered entity has a violative dress code because it is catering to the preferences of its customers or clients. b. Examples of violations. i. Requiring different uniforms for men and women. While covered entities may provide different uniform options that are typically associated with men and women, it is unlawful to require an employee to wear one style instead of the other. ii. Permitting only female students to wear makeup or jewelry to school. iii. Requiring only men to wear ties to dine at a restaurant. c. Actors may be required to wear gender-specific costumes if required by a role.
(d)Covered Entities Must Provide Equal Employee Benefits Regardless of Gender. Subject to § 8-107(1)(e), covered entities offering benefit plans must offer benefits equally to all employees regardless of gender and may not provide health benefit plans that deny, limit or exclude services based on gender. To be nondiscriminatory with respect to gender, health benefit plans may not exclude coverage for transgender care, also known as transition-related care or gender-affirming care. a. Examples of violations. i. Offering health benefits that exclude coverage for procedures based on gender. For example, offering health benefits that cover prostate cancer screening for cisgender men but not for transgender women or nonbinary individuals. ii. Offering health benefits that exclude from coverage, or limit coverage for, health care related to gender transition, including, but not limited to, hormone replacement therapy, psychological or psychiatric treatment, hormone suppressers, voice training, or surgery. iii. Giving twelve weeks of paid parental leave to mothers but only two weeks to fathers. While a differential in parental leave may be permissible if based on physical recovery from childbirth, it may not be premised on a parent's gender. iv. Employers selected benefit plan offering health benefits that deem certain medical procedures available to only one sex, thereby excluding intersex people who may be registered under another.
(e)Gender May Not Be the Basis for Refusing a Request for Accommodation. Gender may not be the basis for a covered entity to refuse, withhold, or deny a request for accommodation for disability or other request for changes to the terms and conditions of an individual's employment, participation in a program, or use of a public accommodation, which may include additional medical or personal leave or schedule changes. Covered entities must treat leave requests to address medical or health care needs related to an individual's gender identity in the same manner as requests for all other medical conditions. Covered entities must provide reasonable accommodations to individuals undergoing gender transition, including medical leave for medical and counseling appointments, surgery and recovery from gender affirming procedures, surgeries and treatments as they would for any other medical condition. a. Examples of violations. i. Providing a reasonable accommodation for a cisgender woman undergoing medically necessary reconstructive breast surgery but refusing to provide the same accommodation to a transgender woman undergoing the same medically necessary surgery. ii. Requesting medical documentation to verify leave time from transgender or non-binary employees or participants, but not cisgender employees or participants.
(f)Places or providers of public accommodation may be granted an exemption to the provisions of this subdivision relating to unlawful discriminatory practices based on gender under § 8-107(4)(b) of the Administrative Code. (Added City Record 2/7/2019, eff. 3/9/2019)
