Not Your Everyday Gender Discrimination Case
It is interesting to see how a bizarre news story can actually lead to a blog post about a general employment law issue. So here I go about a story in a state very close to many of the New York employment law issues I usually write about: Pennsylvania
A 45-year-old Pennsylvania women believes she was fired from her position with a frozen treats making company after she wore a fake penis to work. The prosthetic device was worn to help her decide whether she wanted a sex change. Her complaint alleges both gender and gender identity discrimination.
You may be asking, was the gender discrimination against her as a women or her as a man? In this scenario, it was because she was being treated differently as a female dressed as a man. Hmmm, not sure that sentence really clarified anything.
In the employment context, gender discrimination occurs when an individual is treated differently simply because of his or her sex. Although a unique set of facts, if the woman in this scenario was in fact fired simply because she was a women dressing as a man and was otherwise competent in her job, then she has a very good case.
Perhaps the best argument the women has in this case is the fact that a male coworker was undergoing a similar sex change decision and dressed as a female to work without any negative repercussions. Who knew she would be so lucky with a similar fact pattern?!
As you can see, gender discrimination takes many forms. If you feel like you may have a unique or more textbook case of gender discrimination, give us a call.
