Army Forced to Pay Damages for Not Allowing Transwoman to Use Women’s Bathroom

Army Forced to Pay Damages for Not Allowing Transwoman to Use Women’s Bathroom | Washington Free Beacon:
The Army is being forced to pay a transwoman after she complained that a private, “gender-neutral” bathroom was not enough.

An Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruling last week said the Army discriminated against Tamara Lusardi, a military veteran and civilian software specialist who began transitioning from male to female in 2010, by not letting Lusardi use the ladies bathroom.

The Washington Post reports:

Lusardi, who served in the Army from 1986 to 1993, said the Army required her to use a single-person, gender-neutral restroom out of concerns that other employees might feel “uncomfortable” sharing a restroom with her.

She also alleged that management and co-workers called her “sir” and “it” after she began dressing as a woman and legally changed her name, driver’s license and security clearance.

The Army argued that it provided legitimate and non-discriminatory reasons for requiring the employee to use the single-user restroom and that management was supportive of her transition. But the commission determined that federal law prohibits the department’s actions.

According to the report, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) also ruled in favor of Lusardi last year, and “ordered the Army to provide sensitivity training” and monetary damages...