A former employee ofChili's Grill and Barin suburban Chicago says they were fired after just three and a half weeks on the job after their manager learned they weretransgender, according to claims made in a recently filed federal lawsuit.
Hudson Webber, a transgender man assigned female at birth, said a manager at the Rosemont, Illinois, casual dining spot explicitly cited Webber's "personal values and lifestyle values" as the reason for theirterminationon May 12, 2025, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, says that when Webber asked to speak to someone else, the manager said the decision had been made jointly with the regional manager and that a worker at a separate location was being let go for the same reason.
A spokesman for Brinker International, the publicly traded corporation that owns Chili's, said the company was "unable to comment or share any further details at this time" given the ongoing litigation.
According tothe complaint, Webber was hired April 17, 2025, and met or exceeded performance expectations. Within two weeks, the work atmosphere had shifted, Webber said: In the days leading up to their firing, Webber was "repeatedly called off from scheduled shifts."
In one instance, the lawsuit described, Webber was told not to report for duty because a pipe rupture had forced the restaurant to close. However, Webber later learned the story had been fabricated and that the restaurant had in fact stayed open and staffed, his lawyers alleged.
"In reality, Plaintiff was intentionally being excluded from work because management did not want Plaintiff present," the complaint says.
Advertisement
On May 12, it says, the manager called and said Webber would be let go because their "personal values and lifestyle values" did not align with the restaurant. According to the complaint, the manager referenced Webber's sex and gender identity.
"The decision to terminate Plaintiff was made only after management became aware of Plaintiff's gender identity and expression," the complaint alleges. Webber's termination had nothing to do with job performance, "instead based on discriminatory views" about such identity, it says.
According to the suit, Webber has suffered loss of income, emotional distress and humiliation and seeks, among other things, back pay and compensatory and punitive damages.
Research shows trans people face higher rates of workplace discrimination than the general population, said Ash Lazarus Orr of Advocates for Trans Equality, a national advocacy group in Washington, D.C. Orr was commenting on trans discrimination in general and not specifically about the Webber case.
Surveys have found that significant numbers of trans workers report being fired, denied promotions, or mistreated on the job because of their gender identity, Orr said, contributing to broader economic disparities within the trans community.
"What we are seeing is continued evidence that trans workers remain vulnerable to unfair treatment in the workplace," he said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Lawsuit alleges former Chili's worker fired over transgender identity