• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

3

Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

3

Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
Leadership

Barnes & Noble is latest retailer to face transgender discrimination lawsuit

Claire Zillman
By
Claire Zillman
Claire Zillman
Editor, Leadership
Down Arrow Button Icon
Claire Zillman
By
Claire Zillman
Claire Zillman
Editor, Leadership
Down Arrow Button Icon
May 7, 2015, 8:03 PM ET
A Barnes & Noble Inc. Store Ahead of Earnings Figures
Photograph by Bloomberg via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Barnes & Noble is the latest retailer to face a discrimination lawsuit filed by a transgender employee.

On Wednesday, a transgender woman who had worked for Barnes & Noble from 2007 to 2013 sued the bookseller in California Superior Court in Orange County for discrimination and harassment.

The lawsuit comes nearly a month after a transgender woman filed a similar lawsuit against Forever 21, her former employer. In March, Saks Fifth Avenue settled a discrimination suit filed filed by a transgender ex-employee.

The case by Victoria Ramirez against Barnes & Noble stretches back to 2012, when Ramirez—who then went by the name Tyson—began taking female hormones to begin her gender transition. Ramirez began to dress as a women away from work but maintained a mostly male appearance at Barnes & Noble. At times she wore remnants of makeup to work. She also began painting her nails and growing out her hair.

Her manager at the time complained about Ramirez’s appearance and told her that she was upsetting customers, according to the complaint. The manager also emphasized that they worked in a “neighborhood store” and that Ramirez should “think of the children.”

In 2013, Ramirez finally told her manger that she was transitioning into a woman and that she wanted to present herself as one at work. According to the complaint, the manager told Ramirez that wearing makeup and appearing as a woman at work would make other Barnes & Noble employees lose respect for her position as a manger and as a leader. The manager forbid Ramirez from asking coworkers to call her by her female name, Victoria. The manager later said that Barnes & Noble would not allow Ramirez to use the store’s women’s restroom or wear skirts because it might make other employees or customers uncomfortable. She could only wear makeup if it wasn’t obvious, the manager said, and she couldn’t discuss her transition with coworkers unless the manager was present to ensure that no one felt sexually harassed.

“These unlawful conditions were intensely humiliating to [Ramirez],” the complaint says.

The manager eventually fired Ramirez after she called in sick because of what she described as stress-induced panic attacks.

Later, according to the complaint, a Barnes & Noble human resources representative told Ramirez that the company’s transition plan had been wrong. Furthermore, the representative offered to pass along the message that Ramirez wanted to return to work. But another HR representative eventually rejected Ramirez’s request for a job at a different Barnes & Noble location because—based on the assessment of Ramirez’s manager—Ramirez was an unfit employee and incapable of performing her duties, the complaint said.

When contacted by Fortune, Mary Ellen Keating, a spokeswoman for Barnes & Noble, emphasized the company’s longstanding support of transgender workers. She said it works directly with transitioning employees “to provide the support they need to feel comfortable in the workplace” and with their coworkers “to ensure they are educated about the transition process and what to expect.” Keating declined to comment specifically about Ramirez. But she added “we are very proud to employ a large number of transgender individuals, whom, like all employees are treated with dignity and respect.”

The string of lawsuits comes in the wake of the federal government’s expansion of rights for transgender employees.

In July, President Barack Obama issued an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating against workers based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Two months later, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission—the government agency that enforces the federal employment discrimination laws at private employers—filed its first-ever lawsuits to protect transgender workers under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. In late December, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that, going forward, the Justice Department would consider discrimination against transgender people as covered by the Civil Rights Act’s prohibition of sex discrimination.

For more about discrimination in the workplace, watch this Fortune video:

About the Author
Claire Zillman
By Claire ZillmanEditor, Leadership
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Claire Zillman is a senior editor at Fortune, overseeing leadership stories. 

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

How ‘Ozempic face’ is pushing Gen X, already the biggest Botox and filler consumers, to the facelift table a decade early
HealthGen X
How ‘Ozempic face’ is pushing Gen X, already the biggest Botox and filler consumers, to the facelift table a decade early
By Mia OsmonbekovJune 24, 2026
47 minutes ago
Why Zohran Mamdani’s big night as the Democratic party’s new kingmaker matters for every Fortune 500 CEO in every city and state
PoliticsPolitics
Why Zohran Mamdani’s big night as the Democratic party’s new kingmaker matters for every Fortune 500 CEO in every city and state
By Catherina GioinoJune 24, 2026
47 minutes ago
Warren leans in to talk to Scott
PoliticsHousing
Congress’s landmark housing bill could backfire on millions of renters
By Jacqueline MunisJune 24, 2026
1 hour ago
CEO of $8 billion Flexport blasts remote work as ‘white-collar fraud’ and a ‘total fantasy’ for highly paid employees
C-Suiteremote work
CEO of $8 billion Flexport blasts remote work as ‘white-collar fraud’ and a ‘total fantasy’ for highly paid employees
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 24, 2026
3 hours ago
How Home Depot is rebuilding retailing with AI
NewslettersCIO Intelligence
How Home Depot is rebuilding retailing with AI
By John KellJune 24, 2026
4 hours ago
bob
AIbooks
Robert Wright sees an ‘earthquake’ coming from AI that goes far beyond jobs: ‘cultural, political, personal, family, psychological’
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Success
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
Economy
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
By Jacqueline MunisJune 24, 2026
14 hours ago
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
By Danny BakstJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Texas and Charlotte used to build huge McMansions—now they're copying the California design tricks they once mocked
Real Estate
Texas and Charlotte used to build huge McMansions—now they're copying the California design tricks they once mocked
By Sydney LakeJune 22, 2026
2 days ago
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
Banking
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
By Jim EdwardsJune 23, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.