"She was taunted by co-workers as a 'man in a dress,' trans woman claims in suit against Circle K", 22 Aug 2019

An African American transgender woman in the Chicago area is suing national convenience store chain Circle K, alleging she was fired from one of its stores and retaliated against after reporting co-workers' use of racial and transphobic slurs against her.

Judi Brown claims in the lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois that a manager and other Circle K employees at the store in Bolingbrook, Illinois, harassed her based on her race and being transgender.

Brown, 26, said she was fired after she complained about the alleged discrimination.

“The discrimination and harassment were traumatizing and needed to be called out," Brown said in a press release by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing her. "It was not fair.”

The lawsuit comes a week after the Trump administration filed a brief with the Supreme Court arguing that transgender workers are not protected by civil rights laws...

Circle K said Wednesday in a statement that it "is an equal-opportunity employer with a diverse workforce, including transgender employees and fully cooperated with agency authorities during the previous investigation into this claim."

When Brown reported the alleged harassment and discrimination, she said Circle K failed to act and instead retaliated against her by denying her a promised promotion, overscrutinizing her work and ultimately firing her, the lawsuit says...