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Report: Army discriminated against transgender civilian worker
Oct. 24, 2014 - 03:08PM |
After Tamara Lusardi, a disabled veteran, transitioned from male to female on the job, her supervisor continued to call her 'sir' and 'he,' and she was told that she could not use the same restroom as all other female employees. (Photo via Transgender Law Center)
The Army discriminated against a former soldier working at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, who transitioned from male to female, according to a federal report released Thursday, by improperly barring her from the female restroom and allowing employees to refer to her repeatedly as “him” or by her birth name.
Tamara Lusardi, a software quality assurance specialist at the Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center, began the gender-identity transition in 2010, according to the report from the Office of Special Counsel and a news release from the Transgender Law Center, which represented Lusardi.
She agreed to use the executive restroom “until she underwent a final medical procedure related to her gender transition,” the OSC report states, but used the female restroom on three occasions when the other facility was out of order or being cleaned.
Twice she was confronted by a co-worker, whose name is redacted in the report, and told her actions were “making other employees uncomfortable.”
Co-workers also referred to Lusardi as “sir” on multiple occasions, or by Lusardi’s birth name, Todd, months after her gender identity change had been announced via email to the office. She told The Washington Post she also had been referred to as “it,” but that allegation does not appear in the OSC report.
OSC found the Army’s actions violated a federal law “which prohibits discrimination based on conduct that does not adversely affect job performance, including sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination,” according to an OSC news release. The report cites Office of Personnel Management guidance stating “employees should never be required to undergo or to provide proof of any particular medical procedure in order to have access to a particular restroom.”
The Army has agreed to provide training on the issues found in the report, the release states, but that “does not constitute an admission” of a violation.
“Like anyone else, I just want the freedom to be myself at work,” Lusardi said in a statement from the Transgender Law Center. “This report makes clear that [transgender people] don’t have to put up with being mistreated on the job just because of who we are.”
The report did not find the situation caused Lusardi “economic harm” and did not recommend any financial compensation. Lusardi is pursuing a discrimination case with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to the law center’s release.
Lusardi’s time in uniform ran from 1986 to 1993, according to the Post, including service in Operation Desert Storm.
http://www.armytimes.com/article/20141024/NEWS/310240063/Report-Army-discriminated-against-transgender-civilian-worker
Oct. 24, 2014 - 03:08PM |
After Tamara Lusardi, a disabled veteran, transitioned from male to female on the job, her supervisor continued to call her 'sir' and 'he,' and she was told that she could not use the same restroom as all other female employees. (Photo via Transgender Law Center)
The Army discriminated against a former soldier working at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, who transitioned from male to female, according to a federal report released Thursday, by improperly barring her from the female restroom and allowing employees to refer to her repeatedly as “him” or by her birth name.
Tamara Lusardi, a software quality assurance specialist at the Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center, began the gender-identity transition in 2010, according to the report from the Office of Special Counsel and a news release from the Transgender Law Center, which represented Lusardi.
She agreed to use the executive restroom “until she underwent a final medical procedure related to her gender transition,” the OSC report states, but used the female restroom on three occasions when the other facility was out of order or being cleaned.
Twice she was confronted by a co-worker, whose name is redacted in the report, and told her actions were “making other employees uncomfortable.”
Co-workers also referred to Lusardi as “sir” on multiple occasions, or by Lusardi’s birth name, Todd, months after her gender identity change had been announced via email to the office. She told The Washington Post she also had been referred to as “it,” but that allegation does not appear in the OSC report.
OSC found the Army’s actions violated a federal law “which prohibits discrimination based on conduct that does not adversely affect job performance, including sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination,” according to an OSC news release. The report cites Office of Personnel Management guidance stating “employees should never be required to undergo or to provide proof of any particular medical procedure in order to have access to a particular restroom.”
The Army has agreed to provide training on the issues found in the report, the release states, but that “does not constitute an admission” of a violation.
“Like anyone else, I just want the freedom to be myself at work,” Lusardi said in a statement from the Transgender Law Center. “This report makes clear that [transgender people] don’t have to put up with being mistreated on the job just because of who we are.”
The report did not find the situation caused Lusardi “economic harm” and did not recommend any financial compensation. Lusardi is pursuing a discrimination case with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to the law center’s release.
Lusardi’s time in uniform ran from 1986 to 1993, according to the Post, including service in Operation Desert Storm.
http://www.armytimes.com/article/20141024/NEWS/310240063/Report-Army-discriminated-against-transgender-civilian-worker
