Louisiana Gov. Landry signed Act 579 barring employers from requiring use of pronouns inconsistent with a person's sex
On May 29, 2026, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed HB1137 into law as Act 579, barring employers from requiring an employee, as a condition of employment, to address another person by a name other than their legal name or to use pronouns, salutations, titles, or honorifics inconsistent with that person's sex. Authored by Representative Raymond Crews with language developed with the conservative Liberty Counsel, the act shields workplace refusal to use transgender and nonbinary people's names and pronouns from being treated as discrimination. It takes effect August 1, 2026.
Actors
- Jeff Landry (Governor of Louisiana)
- Raymond Crews (Louisiana State Representative)
- Louisiana State Legislature
On May 29, 2026, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed HB1137 into law as Act No. 579. The bill was authored by Representative Raymond Crews of Bossier Parish and passed the House 66-32 and the Senate 26-9, with the House concurring in Senate amendments 70-24 before final passage.
The law provides that an employee shall not be required, as a condition of employment, to address another employee or any other person by a name other than that person's legal name (or a derivative of it), or to use pronouns, salutations, titles, or honorifics inconsistent with that person's sex. In effect, it shields workplace refusal to use transgender and nonbinary people's chosen names and pronouns from being treated as employment discrimination.
The final language was developed with the conservative legal organization Liberty Counsel, which framed the measure as a First Amendment protection against compelled speech. The act takes effect August 1, 2026.
Why we recorded this
Civil-rights law protects people from discrimination in employment on the basis of characteristics including gender identity. Louisiana enacted a statute that bars employers from requiring workers to use a colleague's chosen name or pronouns, removing workplace misgendering of transgender and nonbinary people from the reach of anti-discrimination enforcement. This archive records when a government narrows protection for a marginalized group by reframing a rollback of civil-rights coverage as an employee free-speech safeguard.
Sources
- HB1137 (2026 Regular Session) — Act 579, official bill record — Louisiana State Legislature primary accessed July 10, 2026
- New law in Louisiana prohibits forced pronoun usage — AOL / KTAL secondary accessed July 10, 2026
- Louisiana HB1137 legislative history — LegiScan secondary accessed July 10, 2026
See also
- Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed the 'Given Name Act' restricting school use of students' chosen names and pronouns
- Louisiana Gov. Landry signed Act 814 replacing 'gender' with 'sex' throughout state law and defining sex as binary and biological
- Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed the Women's Safety and Protection Act, mandating birth-sex facility designation in schools, prisons, and shelters
- Monroe County pulled tourism funding from Key West Pride events, citing Florida's DEI law before its effective date
- Oklahoma Gov. Stitt signed HB 3586 shielding refusal to affirm a child's gender transition in adoption and foster placements
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