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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One of the proudest areas of work for the ACLU across the nation over the past several decades has been our efforts to expand the right to vote. In recent years, the ACLU has led the fight against voter suppression efforts, including recent litigation in neighboring Wisconsin to challenge that state’s discriminatory “voter identification” law.

When you go to the polls this year in Illinois—and early voting already is underway—you have the ability to protect the right to vote. A non-partisan question on the Illinois ballot poses a straightforward question to voters. The proposal would amend the Illinois Constitution to explicitly state that no person can be denied the right to register to vote or cast a ballot based on race, color, ethnicity, status as a member of a language minority, sex, sexual orientation or income.
 

The ACLU of Illinois urges you to support this question when you vote in November. And, we hope you will talk with our family members, friends and others in your extended circle about the importance of protecting voting rights today.

A recent New York Times article tells the story of Angelica Valencia, who asked her employer to accommodate her high-risk pregnancy based on her doctor’s orders. Since Ms. Valencia was 39 years old and had miscarried last year, her doctor recommended that she limit work to a full-time eight-hour shift, with no overtime. Even though her co-workers volunteered to handle the lifting and heavy machinery duties, and the busy season at her job was about to end, Ms. Valencia’s employer insisted that she work overtime without restrictions. After she gave her manager a doctor’s note explaining why she needed the accommodation, Ms. Valencia was forced to leave the job where she’d worked for three years.

Although Ms. Valencia works in New York, stories like hers are all too common across the country, including in Illinois. For example, Bene’t Holmes asked her employer, Walmart, for temporary, less physically strenuous duties after she began having trouble lifting 50-pound boxes in her fourth month of pregnancy. Her manager denied the request even though store policy allowed such accommodations for workers with disabilities or on-the-job injuries. One day after her employer refused her accommodation, Bene’t Holmes had a miscarriage.
 

No woman should have to choose between a healthy pregnancy and her job. That’s why Illinois, like New York City, recently passed a law requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers, as long as doing so doesn’t cause undue hardship for the employer.

Just as important as passing the law, however, is making sure it’s enforced. Employers and employees have to know about the law for its protections to be effective. New York City’s law, like Illinois’, requires employers to inform their employees about their right to be free from pregnancy discrimination. But Ms. Valencia says her employer never notified her about the law, even though it had already gone into effect. That’s why the ACLU is working in Illinois to make sure that employers and workers are informed about the new law.

If you’ve experienced pregnancy discrimination at work, we want to hear from you. Click here to share your story.