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ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE GENERAL ORDER Effective Date: June 5, 2019  Amends - GO 4.6.7 (October 20, 2017 ) Number: 4.6.7 Distribution: All Personnel Review Month: September Reviewing Authority: HRD / Employee and Labor Relations Subject : Transgender and Gender Non -Conforming Employees and Individuals This order consists of the following: 1. Purpose 2. Policy 3. Definitions 4. Procedures 1. Purpose The purpose of this policy is to state the agency’s commitment to providing equitable opportunities in hiring, promotion, and other workplace conditions in accordance with the law and to promot e a professional work environment for all agency members and the commitment to the appropriate treatment of all individuals who come into contact wi th and/or require the services of the Orange County Sheriff's Office 2. Policy The Orange County Sheriff's Office will treat all individuals and employees with dignity and respect and provide a workplace that is free from discrimination . 3. Definitions A. Adopted Name - a non -birth name that a transgender individual uses in self­ reference. This may or may not be the individual's legal name, and may or may not be the same name that the transgender individual's personal documents re flect (e.g., driver's lice nse, passport, etc.). B. Gender Expression – an individual’s public manifestation of being male or female through external characteristics and behaviors such as clothing, haircut, body characteristics, and voice and speech patterns. Gender Expression is det ermined by using stereotypical notions of what it means to appear as a man or a woman, masculine or feminine. C. Gender Identity – an individual’s interna l sense of being male or female, or something not defined by traditional definitions of male or female . D. Gender Non -conforming – refers to people who do not follow other people’s ideas or stereotypes about how they should look or act based on the female or male sex they are assigned at birth. E. LGBT – a common abbreviation that stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender. 4.6.7, Page 2 of 5 F. Sex - refers to an individual's biological or anatomical identity as male or female. G. Transgender Individual – people with a gender identity that is different from the sex assigned to them at birth. H. Transgender Man – a person wh o was assigned the female sex at birth but who identifies as a male. I. Transgender Woman – a person who was assigned the male sex at birth but who identifies as a female. J. Transition – the process of changing one’s gender from the sex assigned at birth to one’s gender identity. 4. Procedures A. Transgender and Gender Non -Conforming Employees 1. Transition on the job a. An e mployee considering transitioning may meet with their chain of command and /or representatives from the Human Resources Division to develop a plan regarding day -to-day operational and administrative policy issues, which may arise during the transition . b. Every employee is unique and the individual preferences of one person may be different than the preferences of another. c. A transition p lan may c ontain standard issues to discuss; however, plans may be customized to fit the individual transitioning employee . d. If an employee desires to develop a transition plan it may include but not be limited to: 1. Determining the date, if known, when the employee will change his or her gender expression, name, and pronouns. 2. Discuss ing the use of restroom and locker room facilities and determine the preferences of the employee. 3. Discuss ing agency records, identification cards, transitioning on the job, or other relat ed issues . Human Resources ’ staff shall assist an em ployee with the appropriate changes in database s, i.e. Outlook, Lawson etc. 2. Privacy a. Personal information may be confidential and should only be shared with agency personnel who have a need to know and a right to know the information to perform their jobs. b. Disclosing medical information about an employee’s transition, which is acquired through the provision of insurance coverage by the Agency, may con stitute a violation under privacy laws such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). c. Under Florida’s Pubic Records law, some information gathered or recorded in a transition plan or other Agency documentation may be subject to public disclosure. 4.6.7, Page 3 of 5 3. Names/Pronouns a. Transgender employee s have the right to be addressed by the name and pronoun corresponding with the employee’s gender identity, upon request. If unsure what name or pronoun a transitioning employee might prefer, you may politely ask the employee how he or she would like to be addressed. b. Upon being made aware, personnel shall use the name and pronoun requested by the employee. c. Transgender employees shall use their legal name on official documents and when placed under oath or swearing to the contents of a report, affidavit or o ther sworn document. Should the employee elect to have a legal name change, the employee shall advise Human Resources as soon as the employee knows the date of the official change and shall then update their name in all employee controlled databases. 4. Restroom /Locker Room Accessibility All employees have a right to safe and appropriate restroom