Have You Received a “Gender No-Match” Letter? We need to hear from you

From NCTE:

Have you or your employer received a notice from the Social Security Administration (SSA) that says the gender on your SSA records does not match the gender your employer has recorded for you? Transgender people know these notifications as “gender no-match letters” that can out transpeople at work and place us at great risk for discrimination or even violence.

NCTE has been working with the Social Security Administration for several years to end these notifications and we have made considerable progress; most of the SSA programs that might cause these letters have been fixed to stop their being issued at all. Whereas in past years, NCTE heard from many trans people each month who had received these letters, we have heard from only a handful in the past year and a half. According to our conversations with the SSA, the difficulty seems to be that the agency has many interrelated verification programs that can issue these letters and some of the programs have computer software that is apparently challenging to adjust.

We will continue to advocate with SSA to entirely stop every one of these unfair and dangerous letters from outing people at work.

So that we can accurately understand the extent of the issue and know which SSA programs are still causing the letters, it is very important that we hear from you.

If you have received a “no-match” letter since 2009, please let us know as exactly as possible 1) when you or your employer received the letter, and 2) whether we can have a copy of the letter (with your personal information deleted, of course). We will protect your privacy and will not contact your employer in any way.

Additionally, if you have received such a notification, please see NCTE’s recommendations HERE with ideas about how to deal with it. Please contact Harper Jean Tobin in our office if you have questions or concerns. Her email address is hjtobin@transequality.org.

Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Act

Despite very little fanfare, the Gender Indentity Anti-Discrimination Act of 2011 was formally introduced in the Maryland House of Delegates by Del. Joseline Pena-Melnyk and Del. Ariana Kelly. A hearing in the House Government & Operations Committee is slated for February 14,2011.

You may locate your elected officials here and offer them this request:

SUBJECT: Support FULL equality for Transgender Marylanders

My name is [YOUR FULL NAME] and I live in your district at [ENTER YOUR ADDRESS].


I am writing to urge you to vote for A Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Act which protects Transgender Marylanders are the SAME level as Race, Color, Religion, Sex, Age, Disability, Marital Status, Sexual Orientation, or National Origin by INCLUDING PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS. This bill is important to me because I believe that ALL Marylanders deserve protections and respect, regardless of their gender identity.


Only by passing a FULLY protective GIADA can Maryland truly be called the Free State, where everyone is treated equally.


Thank you!

We applaud the efforts of legislators and LBGT organizations who wish to promote a FULL GIANA in 2011.

Thank you for your political courage!!