Metro: Transgender discrimination costs New York millions: Report

May 8, 2013 : By Alison Bowen

Discrimination against transgender people is costing New York millions, according to a new report.

The study, released yesterday by the UCLA’s Williams Institute, says that housing and employment discrimination cost the state millions of dollars as people lean on public assistance instead.

According to the study, workplace discrimination could cost the state about $7 million each year.

The report estimates about 58,000 New Yorkers are transgender and said 59 percent are covered under local anti-discrimination statutes.

But that leaves about 23,800 people unprotected, according to the study.

“It shocks the conscience that nearly 24,000 New Yorkers can be fired from their jobs or be evicted from their homes merely because of their gender identity or expression,” state senator Brad Hoylman said today.

The group said that people report losing their jobs because of bias, which means not only lost wages but losing health insurance coverage and housing instability.

This results in higher public assistance and housing program spending, the study argued.

In the report, 19 percent of New Yorkers in the study said they were denied a home or apartment because of anti-transgender bias.

The report also argued transgender people would contribute taxes if they were not fired for being transgender.

Holyman said that the state should pass an anti-discrimination law he proposed that would cover the 23,800 transgender people he says are not protected by such a rule.