When it Comes to Transgender Harassment, Amazon Delivers
Continuing a string of technology company discrimination lawsuits, a transgender woman and her husband have sued Amazon for workplace harassment. The lawsuit alleges that the couple was subject to threats and severe harassment when they worked for Amazon in 2015.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Kentucky, the woman was subjected to catcalls and taunts of “shemale” and “cross-dresser” from colleagues. The lawsuit also alleges the woman’s husband was subjected to derogatory comments about his sex life due to his association with a transgender woman.
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The couple allegedly made several complaints to supervisors about the harassment, and claims both members feared for their lives after a colleague inflicted intentional damage to their vehicle when the brake lines were cut on Amazon’s property.
It is important to note that while Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity, the EEOC interprets Title VII’s prohibition on discrimination on the basis of “sex” to include sex based stereotypes and gender identity. Likewise, several federal courts have held that discrimination of transgender employees violates federal anti-discrimination laws and many states have specifically incorporated transgender status into the umbrella of protected classes protected from discrimination under state anti-discrimination law.
In short, discrimination of any kind is unacceptable in the year 2017, and discrimination against transgender employees is particularly problematic given the emerging legal protections against this despicable form of workplace discrimination.
It is always a good idea to implement careful training programs for managers who craft policies that are impacted by federal and state laws. As part of its suite of employment law and human resources courseware, Syntrio provides online courses covering interviewing and hiring, employment discrimination training, and a variety of other topics critical to managing your business within the complicated laws governing employment in the United States and its territories. We invite you to contact us at your convenience to learn more!
Do you have questions about your current anti-harassment, anti-discrimination or code of conduct training program? Contact us and we can work with you to make recommendations to augment and/or improve your current offering.
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Written by, Jon Gonzalez, Esq., Chief Counsel for Syntrio