Formation | 2003 |
---|---|
Headquarters | New York City, United States |
Website | tldef.org |
The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) is an American civil rights organization that focuses on transgender (LGBT) equality through impact litigation and public policy work.
History
TLDEF was founded in 2003 by Michael Silverman to advocate for transgender rights including health care and restroom access.
In January 2024, TLDEF announced that they will be merging with the National Center for Transgender Equality to form a new organization, Advocates for Trans Equality. The merger is planned to happen by the summer of 2024.
Executive Directors
Years | Name |
---|---|
2003–2016 | Michael Silverman |
2016–2018 | Jillian Weiss |
2018–present | Andrea Marra |
Programs
TLDEF's name change project pairs private attorneys with transgender clients and has helped about 1,500 transgender people change their names.
Notable cases brought by the organization include In re Mathis, the successful 2013 petition of first-grader Coy Mathis to the Colorado Civil Rights Division for the right to use the restroom appropriate to her gender, and Schawe-Lane v. Amazon, in which the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found evidence of harassment and discrimination against a husband and wife couple at the Amazon distribution center in Hebron, Kentucky, currently pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The organization recently won rulings from the U.S. Equal Employment opportunity against Walmart in two cases: Robison v. Walmart, and Bost v. Walmart (also in litigation in North Carolina federal court). As a result, the Human Rights Campaign suspended Walmart's rating in its Corporate Equality Index.
References
- Lee, Steve (5 April 2016). "Michael Silverman to step down as TLDEF's executive director". LGBT Weekly. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
- ^ Ferrendi, Brittany (July 14, 2016). "Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund Names New Executive Director". South Florida Gay News.
- "The Bay Area Reporter Online | Online Extra: Gays Across America: LGBTs build houses across region". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
- Yurcaba, Jo (January 17, 2024). "Two of the country's largest transgender rights organizations will merge". NBC News. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- Ennis, Dawn (July 12, 2016). "From the courtroom to the boardroom: trans attorney leads rights group". LGBTQ Nation.
- Schindler, Paul (21 November 2018). "Refusing to Accept Erasure". Gay City News. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- Sontag, Deborah (12 Dec 2015). "'A Whole New Being': How Kricket Nimmons Seized the Transgender Moment". NY Times. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
- Ed Payne (24 June 2013). "Transgender first-grader wins the right to use girls' restroom". CNN. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
- "Kentucky man, transgender wife sue Amazon for workplace bias". ABC News. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
- "Walmart subsidiary discriminated against transgender worker, EEOC finds". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
- "Transgender Woman Sues Wal-Mart Over Alleged Bias In North Carolina". Retrieved 2018-10-01.
- "Walmart Suspended In Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Rankings". Retrieved 2018-10-01.