Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Employers may be required by NYC law to use gender-neutral pronouns "ze" and "hir"

This is an interesting Volokh Conspiracy post discussing guidance by the New York City Commission on Human Rights advising that employers and others covered under the NYC Human Rights Law are required to use an individual's preferred pronoun, including gender-neutral pronouns such as "ze" and "hir."

In the view of Professor Eugene Volokh:
[Y]ou should feel uncomfortable about people being forced to use "ze," which expresses a view about gender that they might not endorse. And, more broadly, I think we should all feel uncomfortable about government regulators forcing people to say things that convey and support the government's ideology about gender.



This blog reflects the views solely of its author. It is not intended, and should not be regarded, as legal advice on how to analyze any particular set of facts.