Los Angeles transgender discrimination lawyer

A former employee for a prominent wine magazine has filed a California transgender discrimination lawsuit against the publication and its parent company, alleging harassment, failure to prevent discrimination, and retaliation.

According to the Napa Valley Register, the employee worked as an assistant tasting coordinator and writer for the magazine. She says at the time she was hired, she was upfront about the fact that she would be needing some reasonable accommodations to receive periodic gender-affirming medical care. This included surgeries and subsequent recovery times.

Upon undergoing a second surgery, a supervisor reportedly expressed concerns about the time off she was taking for medical care and recovery. This was also around the time that she reported to her employer that a colleague had violated the company’s policies for wine scoring and blind tasting. (A reviewer allegedly changed several wine scores after repeatedly opening wine bags to peek at the label.)

A supervisor reportedly made numerous comments to/about the plaintiff that were demeaning, obscene, offensive, and derogatory – pertaining to her transgender status.

After undergoing a third gender-affirming surgery, she had a difficult recovery, which included substantial psychiatric and psychological impacts. She was recommended for inpatient psychiatric treatment. During this time, she was placed on involuntary administrative leave, and fired about a week later. This also canceled her medical insurance coverage.

Her lawsuit alleges transgender discrimination, as well as retaliation for reporting the policy violation.

The magazine, communications company, and other defendants say the allegations are without merit. Continue Reading ›

California has some of the nation’s strongest protections against LGBTQ discrimination in the workplace. Unfortunately, a slew of recent legislation and proposed measures across the country threaten to erode the already threadbare protections that exist in other states.

Among these:

The passage of a Florida law opponents refer to as, “Don’t Say Gay.” Formally known as the Parental Rights in Education law, bans public school teachers instructing K-3 from holding classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity.
Alabama’s April passage of sweeping legislation to ban gender-affirming medications for transgender children. A separate bill in that state also prohibits early classroom instruction on sexual identity and gender identity.
In Ohio, Louisiana, and South Carolina, lawmakers are considering their own versions of the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has said he plans to introduce a “Don’t Say Gay” measure there as well.
Arizona lawmakers are considering a bill that would change the sex education curriculum that would bar instruction on gender identity.
In Iowa, state senators are considering a measure that would require parents to provide written permission allowing their child instruction on gender identity. (The default would be no such instruction.)
Bills in Missouri, Indiana, and Kentucky would ban all gender or sexual diversity training in schools.
A bill in Oklahoma would ban books on sex, sexual activity, or sexual lifestyles in school libraries.
Tennessee lawmakers are weighing a measure to ban any books or instructional materials in school that “promote, normalize, or address LGBT issues.”

Although these measures primarily focus on K-12 education atmosphere, there are of course LGBT employees at these institutions, and it speaks to a growing culture of accepted intolerance. Our LGBT discrimination lawyers see the possibility of increasing employment litigation as employees fight for fairness and equality on the job.

As it stands, nearly half of LGBT workers have experienced some form of unfair treatment at work at some point in their lives, according to a study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. Continue Reading ›

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