Sam’s Club is a membership-only retail warehouse chain and a subsidiary of Walmart.
The EEOC found evidence that Charlene Bost faced discrimination and a retaliatory hostile work environment in her position as a cashier supervisor from 2013 through her firing in 2015. This discrimination violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“Sam’s Club wasn’t safe for me as a transgender woman,” said Ms. Bost. “No one should be treated the way I was while just trying to do my job. I care about doing good work, but my efforts were met with bias, hostility and retaliation from coworkers and supervisors who targeted me for being transgender. I brought this case because trans people have a right to be treated fairly. Sam’s Club must be held accountable.”
After Ms. Bost transitioned, co-workers and supervisors began discriminating against her for being transgender. She was repeatedly subjected to a barrage of hostilities on the job which included being wrongfully disciplined and repeatedly misgendered. The EEOC Letters of Determination are available here.
“Transgender women of colour are routinely confronted with flagrant employment bias. This determination by the EEOC puts Walmart and other employers on notice that job discrimination of this kind will not be tolerated,” said TLDEF Executive Director Jillian Weiss. “Walmart claims to understand, respect and value diversity ‘while being inclusive of all people.’ We call on Walmart to live up to its stated values. TLDEF looks forward to moving this case to a favourable conclusion for Ms. Bost.”
Less than five-percent of EEOC investigations result in positive decisions. This case is TLDEF’s second EEOC victory against Walmart. In July, the EEOC found evidence that Walmart discriminated against TLDEF’s client, Jessica Shyne Robison in Florida.
