Transgender People Applying for Jobs Could Face Jail Time Under Texas Bill

A Texas bill could make it a felony for transgender people to identify their gender differently from their sex assigned at birth on official documents with government entities or employers, potentially leading to jail time.

Newsweek has reached out to Republican Texas state Representative Tom Oliverson, sponsor of the bill, via email for comment.

Why It Matters

Since beginning his second term, President Donald Trump has taken steps to unravel protections for transgender people.

On Inauguration Day, January 20, Trump signed an executive order titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government.” The order mandated that his administration would use “clear and accurate language and policies that recognize women are biologically female, and men are biologically male.” The federal government will also use the word “sex” instead of “gender” with all official documents, including passports, visas and Global Entry cards, “accurately reflecting the holder’s sex.”

Trump’s efforts come as transgender Americans have been the target of hundreds of Republican-backed bills, including for bathroom usage, sports participation and restricting certain content in schools or libraries that refer to transgender identities.

What To Know

The bill, introduced last week by Oliverson, seeks to charge people with “gender identity fraud” if they “knowingly make a false or misleading verbal or written statement” to a government entity or their employer.

The bill would amend the Texas Penal Code to create a new form of fraud, “Gender Identity Fraud,” alongside crimes like deceptive business practices, commercial bribery and identity theft.

If passed, those convicted could face up to two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

But the bill faces an uphill battle. As the 3,817th bill introduced in the 2025 legislative session, it ranks low on the House’s priority list, lacks co-sponsors and has not been scheduled for a committee hearing, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Oliverson is no stranger to legislation targeting transgender rights. He was a key sponsor of Senate Bill 14, which banned hormone therapy and puberty blockers for transgender minors in Texas. That law was upheld by the state Supreme Court in an 8-1 decision last year.

While the bill faces long odds, it is part of a broader wave of legislation targeting transgender rights in Texas and across the country. Legal experts and LGBTQ+ advocates warn that such proposals signal a shift toward more explicit and extreme measures against transgender people.

Recently, states like Florida have introduced measures preventing transgender residents from updating the gender marker on their driver’s licenses. Florida even classified such changes as “fraud,” a stance now mirrored by Oliverson’s proposal in Texas.

Texas has a long history of proposing and enacting laws that restrict transgender rights. In 2017, the state was among the first to consider a “bathroom bill” that would have prevented transgender people from using restrooms that align with their identities. Although that bill failed, the state has since implemented policies restricting transgender student athletes and limiting transition-related health care for minors.

Last month, Republican state Representative Brent Money filed a separate bill seeking to ban gender-affirming health care, including hormone therapy and surgeries, for all Texans, not just minors.

The proposed legislation is nearly identical to a 2023 law that banned such treatments for minors, with only the term “child” replaced by “person” to broaden its reach.

But that bill also faces strong opposition from major health entities, including the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association, which support gender-affirming care for both minors and adults.

According to Equality Texas, lawmakers have introduced nearly 170 bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community this year, including a revived “bathroom bill” that has gained majority support in the Texas House.

Trump’s Transgender Executive Order

The bill also echoes national trends under Trump, who issued the transgender executive order that has already caused the State Department to stop issuing passports with an “X” gender marker, compelling transgender people to apply for travel documents that do not align with their gender identity.

Seven people have since filed a federal lawsuit in early February against the Trump administration in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, accusing the State Department of denying passport applications from transgender citizens or issuing documents that fail to reflect their identity.

According to the court documents, filed with support from the ACLU, the administration’s policy is “unlawful and unconstitutional,” adding that it “discriminates against individuals based on their sex and, as to some, their transgender status.”

What People Are Saying

Callie Butcher, founder of Butcher Legal Group, a Dallas law firm that advocates for and serves LGBTQ+ people, told the Houston Chronicle last week: “This is the kind of bill that keeps me up at night. This fits right along with the agenda that we’ve been seeing pushed, for the past several sessions, specifically around policing of people’s gender and how they’re able to identify themselves on documents and in sports leagues.”

Sadie Hernandez, spokesperson for the Transgender Education Network of Texas, said in a statement, per the Houston Chronicle last week: “Bills like this are likely to cause distress and anxiety in the trans community, especially now when we are facing threats at all levels of government. We are monitoring all bills relating to trans rights and will keep the community updated with bills that are at the alarming part of the legislative process. We do not want trans and gender-expansive Texans to be exhausted before it’s time to hit the ground running at the Capitol.”

Money wrote on X, formerly Twitter, earlier this month: “Earlier this week I filed HB 3399, which expands last session’s transgender surgery bans on minors to protect all Texans. I want to make it clear that my heart goes out to those struggling with gender dysphoria. These individuals deserve compassion, support, and real solutions to address their pain—not irreversible procedures that leave them scarred for life. This legislation isn’t about judgment; it’s about accountability. It targets the doctors and medical profiteers who exploit vulnerable people, pushing costly surgeries and lifetime pharmaceuticals for financial gain rather than offering genuine care. We must protect those afflicted by dysphoria from being permanently disfigured by a system that prioritizes profit over humanity.”

Trump, during his inaugural speech: “This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life. We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based. As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.”

What Happens Next

As the Texas legislative session unfolds, the outcome of this bill is unclear, but if passed, it could set a precedent in the ongoing national debate over transgender rights.

The Trump administration’s policies regarding transgender rights, which have been a flashpoint of controversy throughout his presidency, are expected to continue to spark legal battles and deepen national divisions over gender.