Agencies in facilities subject to GSA authority must not discriminate on the basis of gender identity “in furnishing, or by refusing to furnish the use of any facility of a public nature, including all services, privileges, accommodations, and activities provided on the property,” GSA has said.
GSA bulletin 2016-B1 notes that agencies including EEOC, Justice and OPM have interpreted federal civil rights laws against sex-based discrimination in other contexts to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity, including transgender status.
It says that agencies in GSA space “must allow individuals to use restroom facilities and related areas consistent with their gender identity . . . self-identification of gender identity by any individual is sufficient to establish which restroom or other single-sex facilities should be used.”
Transgender individuals do not have to be undergoing or have completed any medical procedure, nor can they be required to show proof of surgery to be treated in accordance with their gender identity and obtain access to the restroom corresponding with their gender identity, it says.
“Further, federal agencies may not restrict only transgender individuals to only use single occupancy restrooms, such as family or accessible facilities open to all genders. However, federal agencies may make individual-user options available to all individuals who voluntarily seek additional privacy,” it adds.
