He might have been talking about transgender military servicemembers, but the tweets sent out by the president might triggerbacklash against transgender workers in the civilian workforce,as well.

A report from the Society for Human ResourceManagement warns Trump’s banning of transgender people frommilitary service could result in ostracism against them in thebusiness world, and employment attorneys are warning employers thatthey’d better be prepared with training to counter thatbacklash.

"It is possible that individuals may take the tweets asencouragement to act in a discriminatory manner against transgenderindividuals. Employers must be aware of their legal obligations toaddress any potential backlash,” says Nathaniel Glasser, anattorney with Epstein Becker & Green in Washington, D.C.

The tweets from Trump said, “After consultation with my generalsand military experts, please be advised that the United Statesgovernment will not accept or allow transgender individuals toserve in any capacity in the U.S. military. Our military must befocused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdenedwith the tremendous medical costs and disruption thattransgender[s] in the military would entail.”

The statement is a direct reversal of the policy put in placelast year when the Pentagon removed the ban on transgender militaryservice. While the 2016 policy forbade discharge of transgenderindividuals from the Armed Forces, according to emails cited in thereport from Michelle Phillips, an attorney with Jackson Lewis inWhite Plains, N.Y., and Conrad Shawn Kee, an attorney with JacksonLewis in Salt Lake City, the recruitment of transgender individualswas postponed until July 1, 2017.

Recruitment was further delayed on June 30, 2017, when Secretaryof Defense Jim Mattis announced that the issue would be studiedfurther and no recruitment would begin before January2018.

In their email, Phillips and Kee write, “President Trump’s tweetsuggests that the policy for transgender individuals serving in theArmed Forces, or at least for recruitment, will return to thepolicy in effect before June 2016.”

Meanwhile, there’s been no change to the military’s policy ontransgender personnel, according to Huffington Post. In a writtenmessage to military leaders Thursday, General Joseph Dunford,chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, “There will be nomodifications to the current policy until the President’s directionhas been received by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary hasissued implementation guidance.”

Dunford adds, “In the meantime, we will continue to treat all ofour personnel with respect. As importantly, given the current fightand the challenges we face, we will all remain focused onaccomplishing our assigned missions.”

Jerame Davis, executive director of Pride at Work, AFL-CIO, anonprofit that represents LGBT individuals, said in the report, “Ata time when transgender people are seeing legislation in stateafter state attacking their right to use the restroom that bestsuits them, this ban sends a clear message that the federalgovernment thinks transgender discrimination is perfectlyfine.”

Of course, there are those in government who support thepresident’s position, such as Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., who citederroneous figures in justifying Trump’s decision. Hartzler claimedthat paying for transgender surgeries would cost the military$1 billion to $3 billion in medical costs over a10-year period, although The New York Times reports findingsof a RAND Corp. study that the estimated health care costs forincluding openly transgender people in the military would increasejust $2.4 million to $8.4 million a year, representing a 0.04percent to 0.13 percent increase in spending for servicemembers.

The American Medical Association, meanwhile, has said in aHuffington Post report that the ban on transgender individualsserving in the military isn’t “medically valid.”

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the AMA said,“There is no medically valid reason to exclude transgenderindividuals from military service. Transgender individuals areserving their country with honor, and they should be allowed tocontinue doing so.”

The statement continues, “AMA policy also supports public andprivate health insurance coverage for treatment of gender dysphoriaas recommended by the patient’s physician. According to theRand study on the impact of transgenderindividuals in the military, the financial cost is a rounding errorin the defense budget and should not be used as an excuse to denypatriotic Americans an opportunity to serve their country. Weshould be honoring their service — not trying to end it.”

There has been no determination issued from either the WhiteHouse or the Pentagon on what will happen to currently servingtransgender individuals.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the report says,“contends that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protectstransgender individuals’ right to be free from discrimination inthe workplace.” And Mark Phillis, an attorney at Littler inPittsburgh, is quoted saying that Trump’s action “appears to bepart of a larger issue.”

Phillis says in the report, “The president’s announcement comesthe day after the Texas Senate gave preliminary approval to a billthat would require that all restrooms, showers and locker rooms inpublic schools and other state and local government facilities beused only by persons of the same sex as stated on the person'sbirth certificate.” It would also overturn any local ordinancesproviding protections for transgender individuals to use thebathroom that corresponds with their gender identity.

Phillis adds that the EEOC “has cited employers’ attempts torestrict transgender employees from using the restroom thatcorresponds with their gender identity or expression as evidence ofdiscrimination.”

According to Phillips and Kee, who suggest that employers mightwant to consider reissuing their harassment prevention policies andimplementing a transgender policy to send the message thatdiscrimination against transgender employees will not be tolerated,“Discrimination against transgender individuals will continue to beprohibited in 19 states for civilian employees of the federalgovernment and for employees of federal contractors.”