A Pregnant Transgender Man Files Discrimination Suit Against Amazon

A transgender man in New Jersey is suing Amazon, claiming he was harassed and denied a promotion with the online giant after telling his boss he was pregnant.

Shaun Simmons claims he told supervisor Mike Menno about his pregnancy in June 2019. Menno then told another supervisor, Tyler Houpt, and word spread through the Princeton fulfillment center, according to a federal lawsuit, which was filed Monday.

Simmons said he was soon harassed by other employees at the warehouse, including in the men’s bathroom, where one worker asked, “Aren’t you pregnant?”

Menno and Houpt also allegedly began criticizing Simmons’ work performance in an attempt to get him demoted.

After Simmons complained to human resources, he was placed on paid leave, according to the suit.

When he returned from leave, Simmons says he was demoted to item picker, which required him to lift “large bags of dog food and other heavy items,” the New Jersey Law Journal reports.

Simmons told human resources lifting such weight in his condition was causing abdominal pain. He was placed on paid leave again in July and told to furnish a doctor’s note for any pregnancy-related accommodations.

He claims he provided the required documentation but was denied an accommodation.

“Amazon has a policy and practice of discriminating against individuals because of their disability and/or pregnancy, failing to provide employees with accommodations, and retaliating against employees for requesting an accommodation,” his suit reads, “which is demonstrated by the dozens of lawsuits filed against Amazon in the past six years in the state of New Jersey alone.”

See original article at nbcnews.com