The statistics concerning the number of people in the United States who are transgender are either outdated, imperfectly calculated or both. For example, a 2011 study, conducted by the Williams Institute at the University of California-Los Angeles, compiled data from two surveys and estimated the number of transgender Americans at 700,000, or 0.3 percent of the United States population. In contrast, a 2015 Census Bureau paper concluded that between 1936 and 2010, 135,367 people in America were transgender and, in 2010, fewer than 100,000. (Benjamin Cerf Harris, “Likely Transgender Individuals in U.S. Federal Administrative Records and the 2010 Census.”) This data, however, was based solely on the number of people who had changed their names or sex with the Social Security administration, which, through the summer of 2013, permitted a gender change in Social Security records only when supported by documentation of genital sexual reassignment surgery.

While more statistics are expected—the National Center for Transgender Equality just concluded the “2015 U.S. Trans Survey” and expects data to be available in mid-2016, see www.transequality.org—even without a firm number, it is clear that many transgender people must be between the ages of 18 and 70, which means that they are likely employed or seeking to become employed. While the legal obligations and workplace dynamics with regard to transgender employees have simply not been a focus for many employers, the law and society require employers to take note now. So, what should employers know?

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