Mini Entry #2 – Transition stuff at work

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE

MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

<w:LsdException Locked=

“false” Priority=”70″ SemiHidden=”false”
UnhideWhenUsed=”false” Name=”Dark List Accent 1″ />

<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false” Name=”Light List Accent 6″ />

 

Mini Entry #2

 This is the 2nd of 3 entries to replace the humongous one that was lost last week (still ticked off about that – that was some good writing, didn’t get it back).

 

Stuff At Work re Transitioning.

Okay, recap.  So far, my group lead, S and my department manager, M, both know and are cool.  Both are ladies. (A group is small, like 5 folks, and our group is part of the department, which is like 25 or so.).  They’ve told a lady in HR that the situation exists, without divulging my name, and the HR lady is all excited, in a good way, cause she gets to write a specialized policy for our center (about 1/3 of the company.  We have a very odd organizational structure that isn’t worth explaining.).

 

So, I’ve asked for a meeting, face to face, with the HR lady, and M & S, to discuss the draft policy, and the insurance matter. 

 

You see, in the US, almost all transgender medical procedures are not covered by insurance.  Now, this is not just the fault of the insurance companies.  Most companies are what’s called “self-insured”, and it works like this.  The insurance premiums that are deducted from the employee’s paychecks don’t all go to the insurance company.  They go into a pot of money that the employer holds.  That’s what’s used to pay off most little claims that the employees have.  The other part of this pot goes to the insurance company, and when there are big claims (heart transplant, cancer treatments, etc.), the insurance company pays that.  (If we have any insurance experts in the audience, please correct me if I’m substantially off base here, but this is my understanding.)

 

Now, there are some employers in the US that have decided that they will cover transgender medical procedures.  The employer has the right to pay the employee for whatever medical costs the employer feels like paying – it’s a free country, after all. 

 

So, knowing that we (Sweety and I) have some big trans-related medical expenses coming up next year (namely, facial feminization pour moi), which will run into 5 figures, it might be worthwhile talking to HR about this.  I want to make the case, face to face, that the company can cover these expenses, and should, starting immediately.  It’s not like it’ll run them broke – obviously, if they’re writing a policy right now for my center, then I’m the 1st one in our center.  (There are 2 other centers, at least, I forget, and I know for a fact that there have been trans folk who have transitioned on the job a

nd stayed in the other centers.  I met 2 of them and there’s another I see in the cafeteria, and I believe we’ve had several others.) 

 

Each trans person is only going to have a couple, maybe 3 big expenses, so it’s not like we’ll be constant drains on their finances.  And the expenses are usually in different years.  And, out of 4,000 or 6,000 employees, having only 1 or 2 per year just can’t be that big of a deal.

 

So, I’m hoping this meeting gets scheduled some time this week or next.  Will let you all know when it happens and how it goes.

 

Oh, and another little thing.  The company calendar, which everyone gets a copy of, is usually pretty nice, and is always put out by the corporate diversity committee.  They have found out about every single religious or country’s holiday there is (we have Canadian holidays, Ba’hai holidays, you name it).  I emailed the diversity staff to ask whether we could get an additional date onto the calendar – turns out not for ’09, it was already at the printer (and showed up in my mailbox the following week).  However, for 2010 and beyond, the calendar will feature the Transgender Day of Remembrance on it – Nov. 20.

 

Take care

 

Jude