A woman who worked at a Chick-fil-A in Decatur, Georgia, has filed a federal lawsuit claiming she was wrongfully fired after being harassed for four months by her co-workers for being transgender.
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for Northern Georgia in late June by Erin Taylor, 29, who told NBC News she transitioned about three years ago. She is referred to in court documents by her legal name, which is different from the name she uses.
The lawsuit accuses her former employer of condoning a workplace that included “sexual harassment,” “discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation” and “retaliation.” Employers in the U.S. are barred from discriminating against LGBTQ employees on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity following the 2020 landmark Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County.
Taylor said that after her co-workers learned she was transgender, the “countenance of the entire restaurant changed.” The lawsuit says co-workers started purposely misgendering Taylor, and the co-worker who had initially made advances toward her started making violent and transphobic threats.
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The owner of the location, mentioned in the suit as Joe Engert, did not return NBC News’ requests for comment Tuesday. Chick-fil-A did not return NBC News’ request for comment either.
Read the full story on NBCNews.com.
