EEOC sues Denver tire company

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued a Denver tire company in U.S. District Court after one of its managers rescinded a job offer to a transgender man.

The EEOC filed a civil rights complaint against A&E Tire on behalf of Egan Joseph Woodward in Denver claiming the company discriminated against him.

According to the lawsuit, A&E manager Derrick Haight had offered Woodward a job. But Haight, after reading a disclosure form from Woodward and, while on the phone with him, getting confirmation from him that he was born female, said, “Oh, that’s all I need.”

Haight hung up and hired someone else, according to the lawsuit.

The EEOC is seeking a court injunction ordering A&E staff not to discriminate against job applicants on the basis of their sex or gender identity. The agency also seeks back pay and punitive damages to compensate Woodward for emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, humiliation and loss of enjoyment of life.

“I don’t know anything about it,” Haight said Tuesday morning. “I’m not willing to say anything because it’s something I’m not really familiar with.”

On May 16, 2014, Woodward applied for a managerial position and submitted a résumé. The same day, Haight interviewed Woodward for 45 minutes. Woodward was wearing traditional male attire and had a goatee. Haight did not realize during the interview that Woodward was transgender, the lawsuit says.

Woodward and Haight got along well during the interview in part because they both had grown up in the Midwest. When Haight asked Woodward what he believed his salary should be, Woodward said $25,000 a year. Haight replied that he could pay up to $32,000.

“Haight told Woodward that Woodward had the job so long as he could pass all of the screening processes, which included a drug test and criminal background check,” the lawsuit says.

They then went on a tour during which Haight identified Woodward to other A&E employees as their new manager, it says.

Later that day, Haight asked Woodward to complete a screening consent form giving A&E the right to complete a background check and provide personal information.

When Woodward filled out one of the forms, he answered a question about his sex by stating that he was female, the lawsuit says. He included the name he was given at birth, which was a female name.

Haight later called Woodward and said, “I see on your drug test that you checked female.”

Woodward confirmed it wasn’t a mistake. That’s when Haight replied, “Oh, that’s all I need,” and hung up.

Over the next three weeks, Woodward repeatedly called Haight. When he finally answered the phone, Haight said he had given the job to someone else.