Abstract
Wisconsin, once known as “The Gay Rights State” and a
pioneer of the LGBTIQ+ civil rights movement, has
disappointingly failed to create transgender-inclusive
employment discrimination legislation, much like the majority of
American states. As a result, Wisconsin transgender employees
face shocking workplace discrimination with saddening
repercussions felt by transgender individuals who call Wisconsin
home. This Comment identifies the federal, state, and city
approaches that have extended equal employment
discrimination legal protections to transgender workers in the
United States. Further, this Comment urges the Wisconsin
legislature to incorporate “gender identity or expression” to
Wisconsin’s Fair Employment Act as a non-discrimination
category, continuing with the state legislature’s recognized
preferred approach for creating transgender-inclusive laws. The
Wisconsin legislature is likely the sole governmental branch
capable of and willing to extend such employment discrimination
rights to Wisconsin’s transgender community as a result of the
existing political atmosphere in the state.
Recommended Citation
Alexandra A. Klimko, Comment, Transgender Employment Discrimination Equality In Wisconsin: The Demise Of A Former LGBTIQ+ Rights Trailblazer, 18 Marq. Ben. & Soc. Welfare L. Rev. 165 (2017).