Reports: Trans Woman Sues Deptford Walmart Over Harassment and Termination

A South Jersey Walmart store is in the spotlight after a former employee alleges that a manager at the Deptford, New Jersey location harassed her and fired her due to the fact that she was transgender.

According to ThinkProgress, Samantha Azzarano, who was working at the store since 2012 and started her gender transition in 2013, began to have alleged hostile interactions with a new manager at the location. Azzarano claims that the manager, Sheena Wyckoff, called her by her birth name, “he/she,” and “that f*cking tranny.”

The report goes on to state that “the complaint also alleges that Wyckoff directed an inordinate amount of criticism at Azzarano, raised her voice and yelled at her, and eventually started writing Azzarano up and coaching her on her performance, none of which was done to other workers who weren’t transgender.” Azzarano was eventually terminated by Wyckoff in June of 2014.

A statement issued yesterday by Making Change at Walmart, a project of the UFCW, claims that Azzarano’s lawsuit is the third discrimination case filed against Walmart in the last five months, including a case of same-sex bias and six former Louisiana Walmart employees who are suing due to age and racial bias.

“Once again we see evidence that Walmart doesn’t discriminate when it comes to alleged discrimination,” said Jess Levin, the communications director for Making Change at Walmart. “This alleged behavior by the nation’s largest employer is sickening and unacceptable. How many times, just in the past five months, has Walmart been accused of discrimination? Hard-working Walmart workers have allegedly faced or complained about discrimination for their sexuality, race, age, and now gender identity.”