Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has ordered workers to dress in a manner "consistent with their biological gender."
The mandate came as part of a two-page dress-code policy, issued April 13, according to The Texas Tribune, which obtained a copy of the policy.
All employees, interns, and contract workers are covered by the policy. Anyone found to be in violation of the policy will be asked to go home and change, the news outlet noted. If the violations continue, workers could face termination.
Brian Klosterboer, an attorney with the ACLU of Texas, claimed the policy is in violation of Title VII — which bans employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
He said the policy also violated the First Amendment’s right to free expression and the Equal Protection Clause.
"State agencies should be focused on doing their jobs and not discriminating against their own employees and trying to make political statements through their agency regulations," he said. "There is no important governmental interest that this can meet."
The Hill noted a bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors is now in the Texas Legislature. The state Senate has also passed two bills that would restrict access to drag shows for children.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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