Sam's Club discriminated against transgender worker, lawsuit claims

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A transgender woman said in a lawsuit Wednesday that she was called "it" and "thing" by co-workers and then wrongfully fired from a North Carolina Sam's Club store after repeatedly complaining about harassment. Sam's Club is owned by Sam's East, a subsidiary of Walmart.

The federal lawsuit, Charlene Bost v. Sam's East, Inc. and Wal-Mart Associates Inc., seeks unspecified monetary damages and asks the court to order the big box retailer to train employees to prevent future harassment of transgender workers. It says Bost was wrongfully fired in 2015 from the Kannapolis store in retaliation for her complaints and contends the discrimination she faced violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the North Carolina Equal Employment Practices Act.

“Despite excelling at my job, Sam's Club treated me with cruelty and disrespect, simply for being a woman,” Bost said in a statement sent to NBC News. “I am bringing this lawsuit because transgender people must have the same opportunities to work hard, earn a living and contribute to our communities, free from bias. No one should ever be confronted with the prejudice I experienced on the job.”

Transgender people around the country are increasingly taking employers or schools to court to demand that their rights be protected, and North Carolina has been the site of a protracted legal battle over state laws governing which restrooms transgender people can use.

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