This Trans Woman and Her Husband Are Suing Amazon for Workplace Discrimination

Online retail powerhouse Amazon is known to have a very inclusive employment policy that consistently supports the rights of gay and transgender people. That’s one of major things that attracted Allegra Schawe-Lane and her husband, Dane Lane, to work at an Amazon warehouse in northern Kentucky. Schawe-Lane, who proudly identifies as transgender, said she and her husband applied to work at Amazon because of its solid reputation of being LGBT-friendly.

That, however, was not the case. During their time working at the warehouse, the couple allege that they were repeatedly called "faggots." Schawe-Lane also said she experienced other forms of verbal assault. She was called "shemale" and a "crossdresser," and her fellow employees actually looked over the stall divider when she used the restroom.  

And allegedly, management did nothing to help. (In fact, the couples says they were part of the problem.) They reportedly refused to use Schawe-Lane’s chosen name, instead, printing her birth name from before she transitioned on her ID badge. They also gave her the worst assignments, and when she gave a formal complaint about the discrimination she’d received, her supervisors were told to "watch them closely."

Then, in 2015, the couple reported that the brake lines to their car had been cut. Luckily, they noticed the problem and took the car to a mechanic. There, the mechanic told them that their lines were cut on purpose. They filed a complaint, but reportedly, no action was taken. Fearing for their lives, they then quit.

Now they’re suing Amazon on multiple grounds of discrimination. The lawsuit says that Amazon violated both Kentucky and federal civil rights and labor laws, as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act, because Amazon employees viewed Schawe-Lane as disabled because she is trans.

We hope everything works out for Schawe-Lane and her husband, and that they get the justice they are seeking.