TW: Blatant Transphobia/Homophobia
Help needed.
An incident happened today at work to my non-binary coworker and I wrote an extremely strongly worded email to HR, which I will include here without employee names. If anyone has any advice on where to go from here, potential legal options, what we should be demanding in regards to nondiscriminatory policies and their enforcement, or anything else, I'd be happy to hear them. We are located in California, though our parent company is located in Texas.
Letter:
It’s come to my attention that the micro-aggressions against my co-worker has escalated into full-blown transphobia. My co-worker was pulled aside by another counselor and was told they are being too forward about their pronouns and that while it’s important to them, it’s not that important to everyone else, and that they shouldn’t have their rainbow pride flag up, as it’s the same as having a confederate flag and has no business being in the workplace, and several other employees feel the same way and have just not spoken up. When my co-worker said they would not take the flag down, the other counselor said, “We’ll see how that goes”, which is very clearly an implied threat that there will be consequences for not removing it.
This is beyond unacceptable. We work in the helping field, and many of our clients are LGBT or have LGBT loved ones, and as a queer person myself, I have several flags up in my office and have had great success with those patients because they know without my having to tell them that they are in a safe space with a person it is safe to speak of these topics with, which, considering the current political climate, is a MAJOR concern for anyone queer or with queer loved ones. I feel someone openly opposed to such persons feeling safe to express themselves for who they are has no business in our field.
Additionally, as I stated in my previous email, I am a queer, genderfluid person, and I take an attack on my non-binary coworker as an attack on me as well. And the implication that ‘several’ other people feel this way is extremely distressing. Previously, there was an incident in which my co-worker updated the phone list to include pronouns for clarity and inclusiveness, and so many people complained that they had to remove them for everyone except those who explicitly requested them, citing that it was being ‘pushed’ on them. I feel this is also unacceptable, as it singles out the persons under the trans umbrella which may lead to further discrimination, as we are already seeing.
I assisted my non-binary coworker with presenting the staff with an LGBT training in May, but clearly that has not helped, and if anything, it has increased aggression towards us, as we are now seen as ‘pushing’ our beliefs onto them. The staff DESPERATELY needs official, comprehensive LGBT training from an outside source, such as from the Sacramento LGBT Community Center, who provides comprehensive trainings at a cost. I had heard our clinic has requested it before, but Baymark refused due to cost, and I find this also incredibly concerning, as clearly this training is essential, as well as follow-through to ensure employees are adhering to the training. I implore Baymark to reconsider allotting funds for this critical staff education.
At this time, the workplace is incredibly hostile towards those of us in the LGBT community, and I fear for the treatment of our LGBT patients if staff feels this emboldened to enact blatant discrimination. I am extremely disappointed, as I very much love my work and my patients, but if hostilities continue to occur, I feel I may have to consider seeking other employment, as I cannot abide by a workplace rife with blatant discrimination against me and my queer coworkers, as well as knowing this may also be affecting our most vulnerable patient population. I hope to see this thoroughly addressed so that I do not have to seek other employment.