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Culver's, the fast-casual restaurant chain known for its ButterBurgers has been hit with a lawsuit alleging a transgender manager and three other employees were fired for complaining about harassment.
The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed the lawsuit Monday against five entities controlling operations at Culver’s restaurants in Michigan.
According to the agency, the manager suffered hostility and harassment from other employees for his trans identity, including being repeatedly misgendered and deadnamed.
The employee reportedly had his birth name publicized by others in the company, resulting in his old name being used by two employees against his wishes.
EEOC accuses Culver’s of firing workers who complained about trans manager mistreatment
The EEOC’s lawsuit alleges that the shift manager was subject to hostile anti-trans comments at the hands of an employee. The comments were witnessed by three of the shift manager’s colleagues.
The four individuals reported the harassment to a general manager at the Culver’s restaurant, but no action was taken against the employee, the agency says.
Instead, the lawsuit claims the employee was further able to obtain the shift manager’s birthname and deadname them, revealing his birthname to other workers without consent.
A further complaint was then filed by the four employees against the offending worker. But the EEOC accuses Culver’s of firing the shift manager and his colleagues, rather than investigating the incidents.
The EEOC argues the alleged firing is a breach of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“Employers must protect all employees, including transgender employees, from sex-based harassment at work,” said Omar Weaver, Assistant Regional Attorney for Detroit at the EEOC.
Under the act, employers cannot discriminate or retaliate against workers for their transgender identity or for complaining about instances of such harassment.
“When employees complain of harassment, whether directed at them or witnessed by them, employers cannot fire those employees because of their complaints,” he added.
Similar lawsuit resulted in $930,000 payout from McDonald’s franchise
A similar case recently concluded in Washington D.C., after a company that owns a McDonald’s restaurant franchise was ordered to pay $930,000 in damages to a former transgender employee who faced harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
The employee was fired after filing a complaint about the harassment.
The verdict of the trial found that two companies that hold franchise rights to the restaurant where the employee worked, International Golden Foods LLC and MCI Golden Foods LLC, violated the D.C. Human Rights Act.
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The former McDonald’s employee who filed the lawsuit similarly claimed she suffered ridicule at the hands of her colleagues and supervisors, including deadnaming.
“Managers and supervisors routinely referred to her as male despite her expressed request that they respect her gender identity as female, encouraging co-workers to harass her relentlessly in like fashion,” the lawsuit claimed.
According to the lawsuit, the franchise claimed they fired Medrano for lacking the proper legal authorization to work in the US; but Medrano’s lawyers stated the jury upheld her claim in the lawsuit that this reason was a “pretext” for her firing and that she was instead fired due to the complaint she filed.
Importance of protecting trans employees
While the rights of trans employees are protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 2024 marks the fifth consecutive record-breaking year for the total number of anti-trans bills considered in the US, across 43 different states.
Moreover, a 2023 survey from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, found that 42% of transgender adults in the US have attempted suicide; the 2023 Deloitte Global LGBT+ Inclusion at Work report found that 55% of all trans employees experience non-inclusive behaviors at work; and 73% said their identity played a role in being overlooked for promotion.
Employers failing to protect the rights of trans employees under Title VII, including discrimination, harassment, or retaliation based on sex, risk the prospect of lawsuits such as those filed against Culver’s and the McDonald’s franchise holders.
