Hawaii now have Employment Protections for the Transgendered Community

Tony Wagner from HRC with Kim Coco Iwamoto, Hawaii State Board of Education member and a high ranking transgender official

Sorry to be late on this, but Hawaii passed the bill that provides job protection to the Trans community.

The Hawaii Senate approved a bill, previously passed by the House, to ban discrimination based on gender identity and expression in the workplace.

"The march towards full equality in the Aloha State continues," said Alan Spector, Equality Hawaii Co-Chair. "Providing employment protections to transgender citizens in Hawaii is a victory for civil rights and equal treatment under the law for all residents of our great state."

Equality Hawaii and The Human Rights Campaign worked together to build support for HB 546, which passed by a 22 to 2 vote on Tuesday.

Discrimination against transgender individuals is already illegal in Hawaii for housing, public accommodations and employment, but the ban on employment discrimination has only been established by rulings of the Civil Rights Commission and has not been written into the state statute.

Gov. Neil Abercromie said he will sign it into law.

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