Can me employer fire me for not using transgender pronouns when addressing clients?
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Can me employer fire me for not using transgender pronouns when addressing clients?
I work at a youth home and we recently accepted a girl who thinks she is a boy but has had no transistion. My manager is trying to force us to use him/he pronouns when addressing this resident. Can my manager legally regulate our language? And if we refuse to comply can we legally be fired for this?
Asked on November 4, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, Indiana
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
Is there a union agreement or employment contract that affords you protection under the circumstances? Does this treatment constitute some form of actionable discriminaition (which it does not appear to)? If, not then you are an "at will" worker which means that your employer can set the conditions of the worklace much as it sees fit. This includes mandating that employees use transgender pronouns when addressing clients. Additionally, a worker can be fired for not doing so. In fact, a company can discharge an employee for any reason or no reason at all, with or without notice.
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