Ross Dress for Less Redresses Discrimination
posted by Lindsey Soffes on Tuesday, February 8th, 2011 at 11:34 am
http://aclu-wa.org/blog/ross-dress-less-redresses-discriminationThe ACLU-WA was recently contacted by a transgender woman who experienced discrimination at the Ross Dress for Less in Lynnwood, Washington. While trying on clothes in the women's dressing room, this woman was interrupted by the store manager, sternly told to put on her "regular clothes," and loudly and repeatedly instructed to leave the dressing room area immediately. The ACLU-WA contacted Ross' headquarters to explain that the Lynnwood store manager's actions clearly violated the Washington Law Against Discrimination.
The Washington Law Against Discrimination forbids discrimination on the basis of "gender expression or identity" in "places of public accommodation," or places that serve the public, such as stores, restaurants, hotels, and public schools. The law defines "gender expression or identity" as "having or being perceived to have a gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior, or expression, whether or not that gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior, or expression is different from that traditionally associated with the sex assigned to that person at birth."
-----
Clothing Store Responds to Incident of Discrimination
http://aclu-wa.org/clothing-store-responds-incident-discriminationAfter undertaking advocacy efforts in response to an incident of unlawful discrimination at a local Ross Dress for Less, the ACLU-WA has good news to report: Ross Stores, Inc. has taken action to ensure that transgender customers do not face discriminatory treatment in the future. A transgender woman reported that a manager loudly told her to leave a dressing room and put on her "regular clothes" when she was trying on apparel at Ross' Lynnwood, Washington, location. The ACLU-WA contacted Ross' president to remind him that Washington law bars retail stores from discriminating against customers based on gender identity or expression.
