The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on Thursday made history by filing its first ever lawsuits to protect transgender people in the workplace. The federal agency filed suits against a Michigan funeral home on behalf of Aimee Stephens, and against a Florida eye clinic on behalf of Brandi Branson. Both victims claim they were illegally fired by their employers after transitioning from male to female.
The EEOC also commenced several other lawsuits this week on behalf of victims of workplace discrimination. A Mississippi woman was allegedly fired on her first day working as a kitchen assistant at a nursing home, three hours after informing her employer she was pregnant. A North Carolina man was discriminated against by beer company Mims Distributing Company, Inc.,
which declined to hire him after he refused to cut his hair due to his Rastafarian religious beliefs.
In New York, national legal staffing and legal project management services firm Strategic Legal Solutions offered a New York-based attorney temporary work, which she accepted. The company then allegedly asked for her date of birth, and within 90 minutes of receiving it, withdrew the offer. When the attorney asked whether it was because of her age, the company allegedly retaliated, telling her she would be placed on a “do not use” list and should never apply for future work assignments with them.
If you or a loved one believe you may be the victim of workplace discrimination, please contact Morelli Law Firm for your free case evaluation.