A nonbinary former employee of the U.S. Social Security Administration filed suit against the agency this month, claiming workplace misgendering forced them to resign.
“J. Doe” alleges that constant misgendering at a Social Security office in Maryland between July 2022 to March 2023 resulted in a hostile work environment. During that time period, Doe worked as a “technical expert” and a “supervisory social insurance specialist” at the agency.
Even though Doe lives in Maryland and worked in Maryland, they filed a federal antibias lawsuit in Philadelphia because the regional SSA office covering Maryland is located in Philadelphia.
According to the lawsuit, Doe made their nonbinary status known to coworkers and used they/them pronouns in their email signature. However, despite Doe’s best efforts to raise awareness among coworkers, Doe experienced “intolerable” misgendering, according to the lawsuit.
“Defendants discriminated against and harassed [Doe] based on [Doe’s] status as a person who is nonbinary,” Doe’s 21-page lawsuit alleges.
Coworkers labeled Doe a “little girl,” told Doe to “stay in your lane,” and complained that Doe’s gender pronouns weren’t grammatically correct. When Doe would wince in reaction to being misgendered, Doe was told their “facial expression was not managerial,” according to the lawsuit.
One supervisor claimed she couldn’t comprehend Doe’s nonbinary status until her lesbian daughter educated her about the issue. The supervisor told Doe their gender identity “didn’t make sense to me,” according to the lawsuit.
Another supervisor allegedly told Doe not to hold colleagues accountable for using wrong gender pronouns because SSA training materials are inadequate and “confuse people even more,” according to the lawsuit.
That same supervisor cautioned Doe about being “too aggressive” when correcting coworkers and urged Doe to show “grace” to managers because nonbinary issues were “new” for them. The supervisor also told Doe: “We all have to endure things we shouldn’t,” according to the lawsuit.
Doe “went out of their way” to educate coworkers about nonbinary issues, to no avail. Doe subsequently told coworkers they could address Doe by their first name to avoid the constant misgendering, also to no avail, according to the lawsuit.
In October 2022, Doe was transferred to a different section within SSA, after complaining about a hostile work environment. However, Doe’s new supervisor was similarly hostile and refused to provide Doe with the tools and resources necessary for Doe to perform their job. Doe’s new supervisor also refused to respond to Doe’s ongoing requests for help, according to the lawsuit.
Additionally, the new supervisor would cancel meetings and refuse to directly interact with Doe, thus isolating Doe in their new position, according to the lawsuit.
Doe resigned on March 27, 2023, allegedly due to discrimination and harassment on the basis of their nonbinary status.
Doe subsequently filed an internal antibias complaint within SSA, but investigators appeared insensitive and misgendered Doe throughout the process. Moreover, the investigators’ final decision rejecting Doe’s claims of harassment and discrimination included wording that misgendered Doe, according to the lawsuit.
“Defendants failed to prevent, correct, and remedy misgendering and discrimination they knew to be occurring in the workplace,” Doe’s lawsuit alleges. “Repeatedly misgendering a transgender person despite being corrected, including on a daily basis, can be the equivalent of a thousand cuts over time which can negatively affect the person’s mental health and well-being and thereby result in their constructive discharge. A nonbinary or transgender employee should not have to choose between their mental health and keeping their job.”
Doe is seeking more than $500,000 in compensatory and punitive damages, along with a neutral employment reference letter and comprehensive LGBTQ+ antibias training for all SSA employees within the Philadelphia region.
Doe’s lawsuit, filed on Dec. 1, has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Savage. A jury trial has been requested.
Neither side had a comment for this story.