City updates ‘trans’ rules

Restaurants and other Big Apple businesses are scrambling to comply with regulations rolled out Monday by the city’s Human Rights Commission that extend gender equality to everything from dress codes to makeup. Among the regulations:

If male workers have to wear suits, then so do women in the office.

And if a woman gets to wear a wig and high heels, then so does a guy if he wishes to.

The commission offered no apology for making its rules even stricter than federal laws.

“New York City does not and will not tolerate discrimination on the basis of gender identity or gender expression,” said Carmelyn Malalis, who chairs the commission.

“Today’s guidance makes it abundantly clear what the city considers to be discrimination under the law, and the commission will continue to aggressively enforce protections to make that promise a reality.”

The guidelines are the progressive de Blasio administration’s new interpretation of city genderdiscrimination laws that date to 2002.

The updates are primarily aimed at ensuring equality for transgender persons and those who consider themselves “gender nonconforming.”

Some of the regulations are common sense.

For example, a transgender individual has to be referred to by employers by the sex of their choice, either “he” or “she.’’

But other rules go beyond federal requirements and even court rulings.

While courts have said female bartenders can be asked to wear makeup while slinging drinks, the city has decided they can’t.

Those caught violating the discrimination law face fines as high as $250,000 if willful or malicious conduct is proven.

City officials declined to comment on why their interpretation of the laws are different in numerous cases from the Bloomberg administration’s readings.

Phil Suarez, a partner in master chef Jean Georges Vongerichten’s ABC Kitchen, said the company’s many upscale eateries already have “genderneutral” uniforms and no policy on makeup.

He also said the restaurants are in the process of “creatinggender neutral/ unisex changing rooms and will also be moving to unisex/genderneutral employee bathrooms” to comply with the law.