Yeah. Good help is hard to find even if you have an issue with transgenders.

Im sure racist people employoee people of ethnicities they dislike for similar reasons. Often times you just need good employees and that can put bias aside.

But managers can still have a personal preference on who they hire (at least in the UK, dunno but doubt it is different in USA)

Someone I used to work for didn't hire overweight people, and while it was a big chain and they adhered to equality laws, he still chose to not consider an overweight person after the interview.

It can't really be discrimination if you think the physical nature of someone (be it transgender or fat) could have the slight possibility of affecting your business/customer service.

As long as their entire personality doesn't revolve around that fact then yeah.

I would hire anyone as long as they were good at their job.

Admirable, but if you were losing customers because of the physical nature of an employee, you wouldn't get rid of that employee?

If we're talking 'obvious Transgenders' here, then would you at the least request they dress differently for work? (I.e. Less makeup) which isn't a unreasonable request as people do often have to change physical aspects for a career (I.e. Overweight people who find job hunting hard having to lose weight to be more competitive)

It's absolutely discrimation and it's certainly not something I'd be happy about.

However, let's say you've got $25,000 invested in a business.  You're not even seeing returns yet, as everything is rolling back into inventory or going toward your loan.  That business, for the foreseeable future, is your life.  Now, what if that business was in a location where you know for a fact that you'd have trouble if you hired a transgendered person.  You know people would protest, you know they'd stop doing business at your store, you know they'd come in and make rude comments and harrass your employees.

What would hiring that person accomplish?  You'd make a point, sure, but would it be worth it?  It would make you feel good and it might make them feel good but how would you feel if you lost your store?  How would you feel if sales dropped and you had to let employees go?  Would that point be worth it if someone started breaking your windows every weekend and your best employees left because they were scared?

Owning a business is a bloody tough responsibility even in the best of situations.

I've met quite a few 'Cis' people where I questioned their born gender. There was a really nice person working at a store down the street from me, and all my neighbors were trying to figure out if they were male or female. We couldn't decide, and I would think one, then next time I see them think another. I never figure it out.

Plus, many times as people get older they kind of meet in the middle. I've met some older people and couldn't tell.

So sure, I'd hire them.

Welllllllllllllll yes it's still discrimination (exclusion based on personal preference) because that is the definition:

"Discrimination is treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit."

In relation to how I said I would hire based solely on capability etc, being a customer when I go into a store/restaraunt etc I judge based on service, not race/gender etc.

^ This

And if I lose customers because of that, then that´s not the kind of costumer I want.

Also depending on the kind of business, the target audience and the zone of the city it could even be a plus as it could be seen as a modern and shameless business, wich is cool, but even if not, we can´t be denying jobs to functional people just because of that, specially in countries where that is already well accepted, i do understand it would be impossible in countries like Russia without someone bleeding though.

As long as theyre qualified and respectful then yes -if they weren't, no