Trans woman sues Chick-fil-A after an employee sexually harassed & threatened to beat her up

The on-duty shift leader reportedly told White to share what happened with the franchise owner, Joe Engert. Engert allegedly replied by telling White that “it should be an honor… [as] a transgender woman that someone liked her enough to hit on her,” White’s lawsuit states.

After Engert spoke with the accused employee, the employee allegedly began making violent, racist, and homophobic threats referencing White, including statements such as, “On God, I’m not with that gay s**t,” and “Hell nah, I’ll beat that gay [n-word] a*s.” White said the employee was never reprimanded, and that Engert said he would have to investigate White’s behavior if she continued reporting claims of harassment.

As word of White’s trans identity began to spread, other employees began to misgender her and direct homophobic comments at her, White alleges. Some employees claimed that the bad scent coming from a broken pipe in the restaurant had actually come from White’s hormone replacement therapy.

Engert later fired White for tardiness and for abruptly leaving her shift. But White says Engert didn’t fire other employees at her same level who had also been tardy. She also said she had received approval to leave her shift early, alleging that Engert only fired her for her LGBTQ identity.