ACLU of Illinois’ LGBT and HIV Project Director John Knight appeared on the WBEZ program Afternoon Shift to discuss discrimination against transgender individuals in employment and other contexts. The discussion was generated by the case of Tamara Lusardi, a civilian Army employee who is also transgender, after she experienced discrimination in the workplace. According to a recent study by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National LGBTQ Task Force, 90 percent of transgender individuals report discrimination in the workplace. John Knight spoke about the ruling in Tamara's case and the challenges faced by transgender persons in our society:

"...it's groundbreaking to have this kind of movement in protecting veterans. Although of course we're talking about veterans in a civilian capacity. Particularly to recognize that these kinds of things that so many transgender people face...being forced to use a single-use bathroom, misuse of pronouns -- those things are really harmful and to have recognition of that from the Office of Special Counsel is really wonderful news."

Listen to the entire segment below:

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