Saks Claims It Has the Right to Discriminate Against Transgender Employees

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2015-01-09/saks-and-company-in-legal-fight-over-transgender-former-employee
January 09, 2015
By Josh Eldelson

"Is it legal to discriminate against an employee for being transgender? The Justice Department, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and some courts say no. But in a motion filed in federal court, Saks & Co. (HBC:CN) says yes.

In its filing, Saks asks that an ex-employee's discrimination lawsuit be dismissed "because transsexuals are not a protected class under Title VII," the part of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that bans employment discrimination based on race, religion, or sex. As Law360 reported, the plaintiff, a transgender woman named Leyth Jamal, alleges that she was instructed to "separate her home life from her work life" by behaving in a more masculine way, and ultimately was terminated because she spoke up about a hostile work environment.

Disgusting. They're talking out of both sides of their mouth. On the one hand they trumpet their LGBT tolerance policies while on the other hand they're arguing in court that what they did was legal because the employee was not protected.

I guess the court has to decide whether anti-discrimination policies are worth more than the paper they're printed on.

I know it sounds nutty, but I need to say I worked for one of those 100% HRC rated companies when I transitioned and I was booted out of the door. I didn't make a big deal out of it, or try rolling the lawsuit lottery dice to see what I'd win. I just picked up off the ground and found a better place to work while I finished my transition. That's why I don't trust their rating system. It may work just fine for the LGB part, but not the T part. We have been an afterthought for them for a long long time.

Standard advice: Don't give them your money. It's the only input they respond to.

Quote from: Devlyn Marie on January 09, 2015, 08:03:11 PM
Standard advice: Don't give them your money. It's the only input they respond to.

Exactly.  I have the right to discriminate against idiocy with where I don't spend money.

Fortunately, HRC is actually rescinding Saks's "equality" score. I haven't been too impressed with HRC's track record on trans rights (they'll have to do a lot to make up for ENDA), so this looks like good news to me.

I don't even have money to spend at Saks...

I find it troubling that they claim that transsexuals aren't protected. Makes me wonder if I'm protected under law. My company has assured me that company policy protects me but I would really like the backing of the law.