New Mandatory Transgender Rights Poster Available

Under legislation recently signed by Governor Jerry Brown, beginning January 1, 2018, all California employers are required to display a workplace poster related to transgender rights.  The legislation, Senate Bill 396, requires the poster to be posted “in a prominent and accessible location in the workplace.”

The Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) recently published the English and Spanish language versions of the poster, which may be downloaded by employers.  The DFEH website indicates that Chinese, Korean, Tagalog and Vietnamese versions of the poster are forthcoming.

Elsewhere, the DFEH website reminds employers that any required DFEH poster must be “conspicuously displayed where they can be easily seen and read by all employees and job applicants.”  If ten percent or more of a company’s workforce speaks a language other than English, the poster must also be displayed in that language (or languages).

Employers may purchase posters from other providers, and many provide an all-in-one poster that contains all required notices.  However, the DFEH posters also provide an easy and convenient option for employers to comply with the new requirements under SB 396.

Either way, California employers should ensure that they comply with the new transgender rights poster requirement by January 1, 2018.