EEOC Sues Culver’s for Harassment of Trans Employee

Beloved Midwest fast food chain Culver’s is under fire for letting staff get away with harassing a trans employee. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was made aware of the harassment and is now filing a lawsuit against the Michigan operators of the chain.

Asher Lucas, a trans shift manager at Culver’s in Michigan, reported being purposely misgendered and deadnamed by other employees several times. Three other coworkers corroborated this story, adding that one employee was being generally hostile towards LGBTQ+ people. When the issue was brought to general management, nothing was done to help Lucas. As the harassment continued, the employee obtained Lucas’ deadname and began to use it publicly. When the issue was brought up again to general management, Lucas and the other employees were fired the next day.

The EEOC got involved, as this alleged behavior violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII states that no one shall be discriminated against based on race, sex, religion, national origin, age, or sexuality. Title VII also protects employees from retaliation for complaining about sex-based harassment, such as being fired. Before filing the suit, the EEOC did make an attempt to reach a pre-litigation settlement. Omar Weaver, the EEOC’s assistant regional attorney for the Detroit office, states “Employers must protect all employees, including transgender employees, from sex-based harassment at work. When employees complain of harassment, whether directed at them or witnessed by them, employers cannot fire those employees because of their complaints.”

In fact, the EEOC changed their guidelines for the first time in 25 years to explicitly include trans people. Those who misgender trans employees or deny them access to sex-based rooms such as lactation rooms or bathrooms can be charged with workplace harassment. This was changed only five months prior to the beginning of the suit.