I’ve been following this story since it first came to my attention in 2015. I’m pleased to report that this is one story with a happy ending. Tristan Broussard wins transgender discrimination battle during an arbitration hearing held September 7 – 9. Originally, Mr. Broussard filed suit in federal court based on his former employer’s discriminatory acts, but said employer, Tower Loan, filed a motion to compel arbitration a year ago this month. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana granted Tower’s motion.
I’ve been following this story since it first came to my attention in 2015. I’m pleased to report that this is one story with a happy ending. Tristan Broussard wins transgender discrimination battle during an arbitration hearing held September 7 – 9. Originally, Mr. Broussard filed suit in federal court based on his former employer’s discriminatory acts, but said employer, Tower Loan, filed a motion to compel arbitration a year ago this month. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana granted Tower’s motion.
Mr. Broussard said Tower Loan fired him in 2013 when he refused to dress and behave as female, despite being a transgender male. His position with Tower was as a manager trainee at the company’s Lake Charles, Louisiana branch. During his short time there, Mr. Broussard’s work was praised and he was considered a valuable member of the team.
Hired in February 2013, all was going well for Mr. Broussard as I reported in April 2015:
“According to him [Mr. Broussard], Miss Leah [the woman who hired him] commented that, for only being on the job for two days, Mr. Broussard was already performing above and beyond expectations. The future looked bright for this bright young man. That is until a higher-level manager called Mr. Broussard and Miss Leah to a back office for a little meeting.
Upon sitting, Mr. Broussard was given a stack of documents, one of which the higher-up told him he had to sign. The document stated that Mr. Broussard’s “preference to act and dress as male” was not “in compliance with Tower Loan’s personnel policies.” Mr. Broussard, for all intents and purposes a male, refused to sign. Tower immediately fired him.”
You see, his driver’s license listed him as being female and that didn’t sit well with the higher-up at Tower. Mr. Broussard refused to sign the document, of course. He left work that day and didn’t go back, explaining over the phone that he couldn’t comply with Tower’s policy and wouldn’t be coming back to work there.
Mr. Broussard filed a federal complaint in April 2015 accusing the company of violating federal laws that prohibit sex discrimination.
As mentioned earlier, Tower successfully moved for compelled arbitration. The arbitrator’s ruling was issued on November 23, stating that Mr. Broussard’s situation was a “constructive discharge” in that he “involuntarily resigned in order to escape an intolerable and illegal employment requirement imposed by the corporate office.”
The law protecting Mr. Broussard and, in fact, all transgender people, is the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, according to the arbitrator, the section forbidding discrimination based on sex. As the arbitrator wrote, Mr. Broussard “met the ‘because of sex’ standard to support his claim for discrimination” because Tower insisted that he “match the stereotype associated with female.”
The arbitrator’s decision sends a message to would-be discriminatory employers. That message is simple: follow the law or pay the price. In Mr. Broussard’s case, Tower is paying the price of $43,162 (more than a year’s salary) and $10,000 for the emotional distress the situation caused Mr. Broussard.
Mr. Broussard issued a statement saying, “I am very happy to have this ruling. I just wanted to work hard and do my job, and I hope this ruling will allow other employees the chance to do the same.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Altshuler Berzon LLP and Delaney, Robb & Rubin represented Mr. Broussard throughout this ordeal. Amy Whelan, a senior staff attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights said, “No one should have to face employment discrimination or the fear of being fired simply because of their sex.”
Ryan Delaney, another of Mr. Broussard’s legal team said, “This is not only an important win for Mr. Broussard, but also for the entire transgender community in Louisiana. There is no place for discrimination in Louisiana or in our society as a whole.”
According to Tower’s HR director, Lynne Card, the company couldn’t comment on the arbitrator’s ruling. Color me surprised. Not.
It is almost 2017, people. Despite the craziest presidential election in the history of the United States, we should all be more enlightened than the folks at Tower. It is ridiculous in this day and age to think that people who are different than you are somehow lesser because of those differences.
Mr. Broussard’s experience perfectly illustrates this point: had it not been for the higher-up asking to see Mr. Broussard’s driver’s license, one can assume he would likely still be working for the company. His supervisor’s comment about his performance showed that he was a model employee. Nothing about his appearance or demeanor suggested anything other than a hardworking young man who wanted to do well at his job.
Think about that, people. For those of you still burdened with the out-of-date attitudes that fuel this type of discrimination, chances are very high that someone you know, maybe even someone in your own family, is transgender, lesbian, gay or bisexual. Yet, you love them. Why? You do it because they are good and decent people. Emulate them by being good and decent and standing up for equality for all people.
Even if Mr. Broussard or your friend or family member advertised their differences via neon signage, so what? Are they good at their jobs? Do they treat others with kindness? That’s all that counts; the rest is just incidental. Trust me, I know.
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