Law professor calls Rokita's opinion on pronoun use in workplace 'counterproductive'

One law professor says an advisory opinion from Attorney General Todd Rokita on pronoun use in the workplace is “counterproductive” for employers.

The attorney general’s guidance said no federal or state law requires employees to use the correct pronouns or names of other employees.

University of Missouri law professor Rigel Oliveri said under federal law, only employers can be sued. However, she added that employers can be held liable for their employees’ harassing behavior.

“If that employer has not taken reasonable steps to prevent such activities from taking place,” Oliveri said.

New guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said federal law’s anti-discrimination and harassment provisions include gender identity and sexual orientation.

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Oliveri acknowledged that there hasn’t been a lot of litigation on pronoun use in the workplace. But she said courts will find the federal guidance persuasive.

“So, if an employer wants to protect itself, it’s going to do the opposite of what the attorney general seems to be advising and actually instruct its employees to be respectful of one another’s pronouns and gender identity,” Oliveri said.

Rokita’s opinion noted that it’s “unsettled” whether repeated refusal of one employee to use another’s correct pronouns creates a hostile work environment.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.