BOSTON (Legal Newsline) — The office of Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has announced 43 businesses have joined in urging the state legislature to take a favorable vote on legislation prohibiting discrimination against transgender people.
Businesses include Google, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, Suffolk Construction, the Massachusetts Restaurant Association and MassBIO. The businesses joined in on a letter Healey sent to the legislature in support of an act “relative to transgender anti-discrimination.”
“This is a simple bill that will make a significant impact on the lives of transgender people. The business community has long known that anti-discrimination policies aren’t just good for people, they’re good for business,” Healey said. “We thank these companies for making the message clear: transgender people deserve to feel safe and welcome in Massachusetts.”
In 2012, Massachusetts adopted a law that prohibits certain types of discrimination against transgender people but the law does not explicitly address businesses’ obligation when interacting with transgender people or gender non-conforming individuals. The new legislation will look to rectify this issue, the attorney general's office said.