Trans woman sues Sam's Club over alleged discrimination

A trans woman in North Carolina says she was called "it" and "thing" by co-workers and fired when she complained about it, according to a lawsuit filed this week.

Bost, who's now 46, said she was repeatedly harassed by a man who became her direct supervisor when he was promoted to assistant manager in 2014. The lawsuit said he called her "it" in front of other employees, made off-color jokes and initiated unwanted physical contact.

According to the suit, the assistant manager also was involved in fabricating written infractions against Bost that led to her firing.

A spokesman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the parent company of Sam's Club, said the company doesn't agree with Bost's account.

"We disagree with the claims raised by Ms. Bost. Her termination was for performance reasons," said spokesman Randy Hargrove. He said that the company "maintains a strong anti-discrimination policy."

"Performance reasons" is the sort of comically vague euphemism that happens when honesty is impossible. If specifics existed that they could justify, they would state them.