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.
Learn more about Syntrio's Diversity and Respect courses.
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.
Syntrio is a leader in both the ethics and compliance field, as well as human resources and employment law, and is prepared to help your company implement a compliance program aimed at reducing the potential impact of compliance violations within the organization. Syntrio takes an innovative philosophy towards compliance program design and strives to engineer engaging, entertaining, and thought-provoking content. Contact www.syntrio.com for more information about our ethics and code of conduct online courses and remember to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and LinkedIn for daily updates on employment law and compliance that impact your company!
Written by, Jon Gonzalez, Esq., Chief Counsel for Syntrio
Recent Posts
Archives
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- December 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014