The company behind famous video games such as Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Counter Strike and Portal is being sued for $3 million over allegations it discriminated against and wrongfully terminated a transgender worker.
Valve is known in the PC gaming community for its multibillion-dollar Steam service, an online portal where gamers can purchase video games and software. It is also well known for taking what fans would describe as ‘forever’ to release Half-Life 3.
The lawsuit was filed by a former employee responsible for translating games into Spanish. According to the lawsuit, the employee requested to move from Washington to Los Angeles so she could undergo gender reassignment surgery. This required her to stay in Los Angeles where her doctors were located and to work from home.
Valve approved her requests, but allegedly treated her with disdain afterwards. The lawsuit claims a supervisor at Valve referred to her as ‘it’ following her gender reassignment surgery. In addition, Valve allegedly fired her for complaining about an unrelated company policy. The company policy in question involves Valve’s use of volunteers for translating its products.
Unfortunately, transgender discrimination has become increasingly common in the workplace and elsewhere. If the allegations against Valve are true, it would be another example of transgender workers being mistreated by their employers.
How California Workers Can Fight Back Against Transgender Discrimination
Transgender workers who are facing situations like the one described above may have legal options. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act offers protections against workplace discrimination involving gender identity or gender expression. Depending on the circumstances, transgender employees may have options to file discrimination lawsuits against employers.
The Los Angeles employment law attorneys at Kesluk, Silverstein, Jacob & Morrison, P.C. are happy to help employees who are facing discrimination seek justice.