Read the full stored bill text
ENROLLED
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 1137
BY REPRESENTATIVE CREWS AND SENATORS BASS, EDMONDS, HODGES,
MIGUEZ, MORRIS, AND SEABAUGH
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 23:333, relative to employment discrimination; to prohibit adverse
3 employment actions based on certain constitutionally protected speech; to prohibit
4 compelled speech in the workplace; to provide for the use of certain pronouns or
5 honorifics; to provide for legislative findings and intent; to provide definitions; to
6 provide exceptions; and to provide for related matters.
7 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 23:333 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
9 §333. Intentional discrimination based on compelled speech; prohibited; use of
10 pronouns and certain honorifics; definitions; exceptions
11 A. For the purposes of this Section, the following terms have the meanings
12 ascribed to them:
13 (1)(a) "Employee" means a person employed by the state, any branch of state
14 government, any state board, commission, or other agency, or any local subdivision
15 of the state for the performance of work, including a full-time, part-time, temporary,
16 or seasonal worker.
17 (b) "Employee" also includes an applicant for employment.
Page 1 of 4
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HB NO. 1137 ENROLLED
1 (2) "Employer" means any of the following:
2 (a) The state of Louisiana and any office, department, agency, board,
3 commission, institution, or instrumentality thereof.
4 (b) Any political subdivision of the state, including but not limited to any
5 parish or municipality, special district, or other local governmental unit, and any
6 agency, board, commission, or instrumentality thereof.
7 (3) "Legal name" means a person's name as evidenced on the person's
8 original birth certificate issued at or near the time of birth, or otherwise lawfully
9 amended.
10 (4) "Sex" means a person's immutable biological sex, either female or male,
11 as may be evidenced on the original birth certificate issued at or near the time of
12 birth that indicates that the person is one of the following:
13 (a) "Female" which means an individual whose biological reproductive
14 system is developed to produce ova and who has had, will have, or would have, but
15 for a developmental or genetic anomaly or historical accident, the reproductive
16 system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes eggs for fertilization.
17 (b) "Male" which means an individual whose biological reproductive system
18 is developed to fertilize the ova of a female who has had, will have, or would have,
19 but for a developmental or genetic anomaly or historical accident, the reproductive
20 system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes sperm for fertilization.
21 B.(1) An employer shall not adopt or enforce a policy that requires an
22 employee to state or identify pronouns inconsistent with the employee's sex.
23 (2) An employer shall not adopt or enforce a policy that requires an
24 employee to use a name other than the employee's legal name, or a derivative
25 thereof, in official employment records or communications.
26 C.(1) An employee shall not be required, as a condition of employment, to
27 address another employee or any other person by a name other than the person's legal
28 name, or a derivative thereof, or to use pronouns, salutations, titles, or honorifics
29 inconsistent with the other employee's or person's sex.
Page 2 of 4
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HB NO. 1137 ENROLLED
1 (2) An employee shall not be subject to an adverse employment action for
2 declining or refusing to do any of the following:
3 (a) Identify the employee's own pronouns.
4 (b) Address a person using a name other than the person's legal name, or a
5 derivative thereof, or by a pronoun, salutation, title, or other honorific inconsistent
6 with the person's sex.
7 D. No employee shall be subject to an adverse employment action for using
8 pronouns consistent with a person's sex.
9 E. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit a request from one
10 employee to another employee, or a voluntary agreement among employees
11 regarding forms of addressing a person, if that agreement is not compelled by the
12 employer.
13 Section 2.(A) The legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:
14 (1) The Supreme Court of the United States has held that the First Amendment of
15 the Constitution of the United States protects not only the right to speak freely but also the
16 right to refrain from speaking.
17 (2) Employment practices that compel speech on matters of political, ideological,
18 or religious significance threaten individual liberties and freedom of conscience.
19 (3) The Supreme Court of the United States has affirmed that the First Amendment
20 prohibits the government from compelling speech by requiring an individual to communicate
21 messages contrary to sincerely held religious beliefs.
22 (B) Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to:
23 (1) Protect employees and applicants from adverse employment actions based on
24 their refusal to engage in compelled speech in violation of the First Amendment of the
25 Constitution of the United States.
26 (2) Ensure that no employer requires an employee to express, adopt, or affirm a
27 belief or message regarding sex or pronoun usage that conflicts with the employee's
28 sincerely held beliefs.
29 (3) Safeguard the constitutional rights of freedom of speech and free exercise of
30 religion in the workplace.
Page 3 of 4
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HB NO. 1137 ENROLLED
1 (4) Provide clear statutory protections consistent with the First Amendment of the
2 Constitution of the United States and applicable court opinions.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
Page 4 of 4
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.