When the bill was in the legislature, many transgender Iowans were worried it would leave them vulnerable to housing and workplace discrimination. Over the previous months, curiosity has circulated around the bill’s impact.

Michelle Phillips with the Jackson Lewis law firm explains that, even after the change, it would be difficult for a person or business to discriminate in the workplace because of gender identity. She says while Gender Identity is no longer protected at a state level, there are still federal and many local laws against discrimination.

“Given the myriad layers and the complexity of the federal, state and municipality laws, they should at this point at least take some solace that it would still be difficult to take legal action based on gender identity,” Phillips said.

But as Ken Wentz, a fellow lawyer with Jackson Lewis, it could be more complicated regarding housing.

“On the housing side, I think that’s a little bit different,” Wentz said, discussing landlords potentially being discriminatory. “There might not be as much oversight over those.“

When Governor Reynolds signed the bill back in February she said it “safeguards the rights of women and girls.” That was a sentiment shared by advocates and lawmakers who testified at the state capitol, arguing the change is essential to keep women safe by keeping biological men from sharing restroom spaces and participating in sports with biological women.

“Biological differences impact safety, fairness and competition and policies blurring this distinction threaten the protections women have fought hard to secure,” Amber with Inspired Life, a Christian advocacy group, said. “This isn’t about hatred.”

In the months since, many transgender Iowans say they feel threatened encouraging some to leave the state.

“They are seeing from most people that are in positions of power in our country, certainly in Iowa, definitely at the federal level, they are seeing that it’s completely acceptable to harm, target and ostracize marginalized people,” Max Mowitz, a transgender advocate with One Iowa, said. “We’ve also seen a lot of trans Iowans making plans to move, and I know many folks that are either moved out of the state already or are planning to.”

Ultimately, Wentz says many of the businesses in Iowa his team works with are going the extra mile, ensuring their business is more accommodating to trans workers.

“Just because the Iowa law now says, ‘Gender identity is not a protected characteristic,’ that doesn’t mean that a company can’t take a different approach,“ Wentz said. ”It’s very interesting to hear that they want to make sure that they’re creating a culture in their workforce of acceptance.”

Jackson Lewis has a broader article discussing the possibility of workplace discrimination, click here to view.

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