Ashley Yang, a transgender TSA agent who was fired from her job at LAX for using the women’s washroom, has been awarded a cash settlement from the agency after allegedly being ordered to dress like a man and pat down men.
“Ashley lives her life as a woman. Her co-workers recognized her as a woman. Passengers recognized her as a woman. But her employer didn’t,” said attorney Kristina Wertz of the San Francisco-based Transgender Law Center, which helped her file a civil rights complaint. “She was asked to hide who she was just in order to earn a living.”
Ms. Yang received back pay as well as damages for pain and suffering as part of the settlement. As well, managers at Los Angeles International Airport are now undergoing mandatory sensitivity training.
“The awkward dance between TSA and Yang reflects an expanding and unsettled frontier in employment and civil rights law,” said Michael Silverman, executive director of the New York-based Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund.