Man Sues Two Walmarts For Allegedly Refusing To Process A Money Order Because He Is Trans
August 24, 2022A trans man has filed a complaint with the Illinois Human Rights Department after he was denied service at two Walmart stores, LGBTQ Nation reports.
Employees at stores in Lawrenceville and Olney, Illinois would not allow Skyler Hyatt to cash a money order because his driver’s license still lists his deadname, he says. At the time, his license did list his gender as male and had a current photo, but Hyatt says he has been unable to afford the process of legally changing his name under state law, according to The Hill.
The complaint states that a supervisor at one store “made a face of disgust” when presented with Hyatt’s ID. An employee at another store told Hyatt that his money order had been “red flagged.”
“What should have been a simple transaction turned into an embarrassing and painful experience,” a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois said. “Transgender people like me exist in every corner of Illinois. And many of us depend on services from stores like Walmart to navigate life without outing ourselves at every turn.”
A spokesperson for Walmart said the company is taking Hyatt’s complaint “seriously,” adding that the retailer does not “tolerate discrimination of any kind.”
Walmart has been the subject of lawsuits from former transgender employees in recent years. One former employee sued in December because managers and coworkers repeatedly used her deadname.
In 2017, the retail giant lost a federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) case when the board ruled that they had discriminated and harassed a trans woman at a Sam’s Club subsidiary in Florida. That same year, another transgender woman won her case before the EEOC.
Walmart later settled a lawsuit brought by Charlene Bost, who alleged she was harassed by coworkers at a Sam’s Club in North Carolina. She says she was treated differently, unfairly disciplined, and ultimately fired after she came out as trans.
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