Saks Reverses Controversial Filing on Trans Discrimination Case

In a federal court filing Monday morning, Saks Fifth Avenue withdrew a December filing that claimed transgender employees are not covered under the the sex discrimination ban in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

The company’s original motion was filed in order to dismiss former employee Leyth Jamal’s discrimination case; their initial statement included the following:

“Saks is confident that, as this matter proceeds, the facts will demonstrate that Plaintiff’s allegations are wholly without merit, that Saks did not discriminate against Plaintiff, and that Saks’ policies and procedures are effective in ensuring an inclusive and diverse workplace free of discrimination and harassment.”

That legal position, according to BuzzFeed, “runs counter to most recent court decisions, rulings of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Obama administration.” Both the Human Rights Campaign and National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a brief in the case, “telling the court that it believed Saks’ prior position that Title VII didn’t cover transgender people was legally incorrect.”

Whoopsie! Saks totally didn’t mean to be offensive, factually-challenged blowhards about this whole thing! But that doesn’t mean they’re backing down entirely: the company will continue its ill-advised fight against Jamal’s case, which asserts that she was harassed, belittled, forced to use the men’s bathroom, referred to with male pronouns and then fired. This should go swimmingly.