Saks Fifth Avenue Says Transgender Employees Are Not Protected Against Discrimination
HOUSTON (CBS SF) -- High-end retailer Saks & Co. has asked a Texas federal court to dismiss a discrimination lawsuit filed against the company by a former Saks Fifth Avenue employee, arguing that transgender people are not protected by the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Leyth O. Jamal claims in her lawsuit that she was discriminated against at her job in Houston's Galleria Mall, harassed by staffers and a endured a hostile work environment because of her transgender status.
According to the complaint, Jamal said she was not allowed to use the women's restroom, instructed to "separate her home life from her work life" by behaving in a more masculine way, and that she was fired for complaining to her superiors.
Saks has denied the accusations; in addition, its motion-to-dismiss last month asserted that Jamal's trans identity is not protected by the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which bans employment discrimination based on race, religion or sex:
Plaintiff's claims are also couched in terms of "gender" discrimination, Plaintiff's Complaint makes clear that the gravamen of Plaintiff's claims are alleged discrimination and harassment based on Plaintiff's status as a transsexual. In addition, Plaintiff's claims of discrimination and harassment/hostile work environment because of "her [sic] gender" (i.e., female) are outside the scope of Plaintiff's EEOC charge, which did not assert that Plaintiff was discriminated against based on status as a female.4 Plaintiff's retaliation claim fails to state a claim because it is well settled that transsexuals are not protected by Title VII.
On the Saks Fifth Ave. website, the company says "understanding and valuing diversity is core to our commitment."
Company policy prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, religion, national origin, religious beliefs, marital status, gender, gender-identity, age, veteran's status, sexual orientation or non-job-related disability, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state or local laws.
The Company is committed to complying with all applicable laws providing equal employment opportunities. This commitment applies to all persons involved in the operation of the Company and prohibits unlawful discrimination by any Associate of the Company, including supervisors and coworkers.
Saks Senior Vice President Kathleen Ruiz told both Bloomberg News and BuzzFeed that the company "maintains a long history of policies and practices that are fully supportive of the LGBT community and our LGBT associates."
Ruiz did not comment directly on the pending litigation.
Saks' motion was filed two weeks after Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department's current interpretation of Title VII was discrimination against transgender people is prohibited, a reversal its previous stance.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled in 2012 that Title VII does protect trans people from discrimination. Meanwhile, courts have previously ruled on both sides of the issue, and the Saks motion referred to a handful of cases where courts ruled trans identity was not protected by Title VII.
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