Legal Protection For Workers

Transgender man files for employment discrimination against Giant

On Behalf of | Nov 16, 2015 | Firm News, Workplace Discrimination

A former employee of Giant supermarkets outside of California alleges that he was pressured to present himself as a woman even though he identified as a man. The plaintiff claims that he was the victim of employment discrimination because of his gender identity. He began working for the defendant in 2011 while still attending high school. Immediately after he was hired, he began to present himself as a male.

The plaintiff did not use his birth name of Samantha, but he instead preferred to be called Sam to better represent himself as a male. He was required to wear a name tag while he worked for the supermarket as a bagger. To match his male persona, he had wanted his tag to say Sam. His managers allegedly forced him to have his female name displayed instead.

Two years into his employment, the plaintiff decided to cut his long hair so that he appeared more masculine. This apparently upset his manager who threatened him and told him that there would be pushback if he chose to cut his hair any shorter. The plaintiff did not understand why what he was doing was so controversial, and he was allegedly told the company had normal standards and he was to follow them.  The plaintiff was also disciplined for breaking the normal standards because he openly discussed being in a relationship with a woman.

Despite all of these incidents, the plaintiff continued to work for Giant until the uniform policy had been updated to reflect gender-specific clothing. The plaintiff requested to not wear the female uniform, but he was denied, and he left his job shortly thereafter. He claims that Giant violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. He is hoping that the court will award him the damages and lost wages that he seeks for the alleged employment discrimination. California employees do not deserve to be treated poorly because of their protected statuses and those that are aggrieved may consider taking legal action against their employers.

Source: nj.com, “Supermarket tried to make me wear low-cut uniform, transgender man says in lawsuit“, Greg Adomaitis, Nov. 13, 2015

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