GOP senators blast efforts to protect transgender federal employees

Senate Republicans are questioning the Biden administration over a policy to ensure transgender federal employees do not face discrimination, suggesting the guidance creates a hostile work environment for those who do not recognize transgender rights. 

The lawmakers sent the letter to Health and Human Services Department Secretary Xavier Becerra over a policy he put forward last year for gender identity non-discrimination and inclusion for both employees and applicants. The guidance contains a significant amount of boilerplate language detailing that the federal government must maintain a workplace free of harassment and recruit a diverse workforce, while also defining terms like “gender non-conforming” and “non-binary” and requiring that employees be addressed “by the names and pronouns they use to describe themselves.” 

That requirement, said Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., James Risch, R-Idaho, Mike Lee, R-Utah, Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, “denies science” and restricts federal workers from practicing their faith without fear of retaliation. It also endangers women, they said, because it could force female workers to “be exposed to fully male anatomy in the bathroom or locker room.” 

While the HHS policy requires there are no barriers to equally accessing restrooms, locker rooms, lactation rooms and other personal care spaces, it also directs department officials to provide employees expressing discomfort with that set up access to alternate spaces. 

The policy makes clear that officials cannot ask potential employees about their gender during the application process. Employees receiving gender-affirming care are entitled to use sick leave, HHS said, and those who transition can opt to have their official records updated or not. The department tasked itself with creating a gender identity resource committee and coordinator to update the policy as needed, oversee related training and advise senior leadership. All supervisors and managers were tasked with protecting their employees from discrimination and harassment. 

HHS’ policy is largely in line with government-wide guidance the Office of Personnel Management issued earlier last year. The department said in the guidance it was fundamental to its mission to honor its workforce and treat employees with respect and dignity. 

“This policy provides guidance to ensure compliance with federal prohibitions on employment-related sex discrimination and to foster a welcoming and inclusive workplace for employees regardless of gender identity or expression,” HHS said. 

Republicans have attacked Biden’s diversity initiatives since he began rolling them out in the earliest days of his administration, criticizing the efforts as overly “woke” and unnecessary. In their letter, the Republican senators said HHS failed to carve out religious exemptions for the policy and suggested the department was forcing employees to “choose between deeply held religious beliefs or losing their jobs.” 

HHS is losing the confidence of the American people, the senators said, citing favorability data from Pew Research, and its guidance were part of an effort to “push a radical agenda in every facet of the federal workplace.” 

The senators requested additional information on the statutory basis for the policy, how employees might receive exemptions, what disciplinary actions would await those who violate the policy and whether any employees have so far been held accountable for failing to abide by it. 

HHS did not respond to a request for comment.