A woman is suing an Illinois Circle K after allegedly experiencing racial and gender discrimination while working as a cashier.
Judi Brown, a transgender woman, claims her co-workers and managers made transphobic and racist comments toward her, according to NBC News. She filed a lawsuit against the Bolingbrook store in a U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on August 21.
The 26-year-old accused colleagues of using transphobic slurs, calling her "n****r" and referring to her as a “man in a dress.” Brown also experienced abuse from her manager, according to court documents.
The manager asked "offensive and sexually explicit questions" about Brown’s love life, anatomy and plans for sexual reassignment surgery. The manager also used male pronouns toward Brown and refused to use her given name in work documents.
Brown reported the mistreatment, but she didn’t receive any help. Instead, she was denied a promised promotion, and her superiors micromanaged her work. She worked for the company from May 2016 to June 2017. She was fired the day after a conflict over her schedule.
Brown followed the protocol to take the day off because she intended to perform at Chicago Pride. The manager denied her request and scheduled a shift for the day. Brown typically worked a Monday – Friday schedule and the event fell on a Sunday. She was fired the next day and didn’t find out until she was unable to clock in for her next shift.
“I was in absolute shock after being fired. I followed all the rules for taking off on that day so I could celebrate with my community — and they picked that day to terminate me,” Brown said in a statement to The Chicago Sun-Times. “I felt so humiliated.”
ACLU lawyer Carolyn Wald argues the termination isn’t just insulting, it’s illegal.
“An employee cannot be fired simply because they are transgender, and they cannot be fired for speaking out about racist and transphobic harassment in the workplace. Circle K’s actions were unacceptable and illegal,” Wald said in a statement.
She added, “Employers should never advance the bigotry of some employees over the safety, wellbeing, and success of others. Employers must do better to support transgender employees, particularly transgender employees of color.”
Brown is seeking unspecified damages to “reasonably compensate her for her losses, and damages for emotional distress.” She also wants attorney’s fees and punitive damages.
She hopes the lawsuit will help other transgender workers avoid similar treatment.
“Even in Illinois, discrimination against transgender people, especially trans women of color, still happens. We deserve to be respected at work just like everyone else,” Brown said. “My hope is that this lawsuit will show that what happened to me was wrong and no one else should have to put up with it.”
Watch Brown's interview with ABC Chicago below:
