NEW JERSEY – A New Jersey transgender man has been fired after his employers decided that he did not fulfill a men-only requirement of the job.
Urban Treatment Associates, a drug treatment center in Camden, New Jersey, fired El’Jai Devoureau on his second day at work when his supervisor was informed he was transgender. The supervisor confronted Devoureau, who refused to answer questions about surgery. Devoureau’s job was to monitor men urinating into sample cups at the testing lab. The employer says this job can only be done by a male, and that Devoureau is not a man.
“I needed this job to support myself and my family,” Devoureau said. “In this economy, jobs are really hard to find. They were happy to have me work there until they heard about my transition. I’m a hard worker and it’s unfair that I was fired over something that has nothing to do with how well I did the job.”
Devoureau’s birth certificate, driver license and Social Security card identify him as male. Devoureau first contacted the New Jersey Civil Rights Division, and now his case has resulted in a lawsuit filed in Superior Court.
Devoureau is represented by the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, which says almost half of trans people have been fired or denied promotions for being trans.
